In Eskombia County, Alabama, not far from the Gulf Coast, six people from a mobile home park have been hospitalized for injuries sustained during a possible hurricane, a spokeswoman for the Eskombia County Sheriff’s Office told CNN.
A spokesman said five people from the mobile home park were taken to the hospital by ambulance and another arrived at the hospital on their own.
Nine mobile homes were damaged when the storm struck at about 9 a.m., about 50 miles north of Pensacola, Florida. Escambia County Sheriff Heath Jackson said. He said the National Weather Service is sending a team to assess whether the damage was caused by a hurricane or direct wind.
The same storms rolled through Georgia on Friday afternoon and moved into the Carolinas.
The risk of severe weather extends from the Ohio Valley to Florida, with large-diameter hailstorms, hurricanes and hurricanes up to 70 mph. Nearly 45 million people are in the path of the storm as it moves east.
The Storm Forecast Center (SPC) forecast states that “conditions are optimal for a hurricane” and that if a storm is properly lined up, “a long, strong hurricane is possible.”
Possibility of ‘huge hail’
Hurricanes are expected to continue eastward Friday, up to Columbus, Ohio, Wilmington, North Carolina and south of Florida Poonhund.
The possibility of strong thunderstorms could also affect parts of Cincinnati, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky, where damaging winds and heavy hail are possible.
“Large hail and wind damage could occur further north and across the Ohio and Tennessee Valley, some of which could cause very large hail,” the SPC said.
The area from southeastern Missouri to northeast western Kentucky and far south Indiana has the greatest potential for 2-inch-diameter hailstones.
“Some thunderstorms may have high rainfall, which triggers the risk of flash floods (Level 1 of 4) in Alabama and western Georgia,” the Meteorological Center (WPC) said.
The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued.
More severe storms are expected along most of the Atlantic coast on Saturday.
CNN’s Petrum Zawahiri, Mike Sans and Hannah Sarison contributed to the report.
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