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Florida death brings number killed in weekend Southeastern storms to at least 20

 
A woman holds a child while walking through a farm that was damaged by a tornado, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, in Adel, Ga. (AP Photo/Branden Camp) GABC109
A woman holds a child while walking through a farm that was damaged by a tornado, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, in Adel, Ga. (AP Photo/Branden Camp) GABC109
Published Jan. 23, 2017

ADEL, Ga. — A vast storm system that kicked up apparent tornadoes, shredded mobile homes and left other destruction scattered around the Southeast has claimed at least 20 lives during its two-day assault on the region.

Authorities said Monday at least 15 deaths occurred in south Georgia alone, including seven from a winter twister that tore through a trailer park before dawn Sunday. Authorities also reported four deaths Saturday in Mississippi as the storm system ramped up.

Florida has confirmed its first fatality attributed to the severe weekend weather, as Columbia County Emergency Management director Shayne Morgan said Monday that a storm passing through Lake City caused a tree to crash into a house. A woman was injured and later died at a nearby hospital.

The National Weather Service in Miami said on social media that two tornadoes touched down early Monday morning in South Florida. A tornado with top wind speeds of 107 mph hit Miami-Dade County, while a tornado reaching speeds of 80-85 mph hit Palm Beach County, where officials closed two schools Monday because storms had bent fences and scattered bleachers and other sports equipment into nearby streets.

Minor flooding was reported across Florida's Panhandle.

The National Weather Service also confirmed Monday that a powerful tornado touched down in a southwest Georgia city where four people died. A survey team concluded Monday that a tornado left a path of destruction a half-mile wide in parts of Albany. The agency said it was an EF-2 tornado or stronger, meaning it packed winds of at least 111 mph.

Survey teams are also examining storm damage in three other Georgia counties where people died and tornadoes were reported.

In South Carolina, the National Weather Service confirmed that two tornadoes struck over the weekend, injuring one woman who was trapped in a mobile home that was damaged near Blackville. The weather service says a tornado touched down about 3:45 p.m. Saturday in Barnwell County and moved into Bamberg County. The other occurred in Orangeburg County a few minutes later.

In Southern California, at least four people died, three were missing and others were rescued from raging floodwaters from weekend storms. Flood watches and warnings remained in place for much of Southern California, a day after nearly 4 inches of rain fell south of Los Angeles. And heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada triggered an avalanche that shut down a highway just west of Lake Tahoe. Officials warned of continuing avalanche danger at all elevations of the Sierra.