Severe storms sweep the Southeast

CNN’s continuing coverage of the severe storms can be found here.

Some students and staff at four Spalding County middle schools had to remain late Thursday due to roads being impassable after severe weather impacted the area.

School officials and community leaders were “working to provide food and drinks to the students and staff remaining in our four middle schools,” according to a post on the Griffin-Spalding County School System Facebook page.

In a Thursday night update, the district said 24 students remained at two middle schools, and officials and law enforcement officers “are working to assist in transporting the students home who have safe homes to return to.”

School officials had given parents the option to pick up their children if they felt they could safely reach the schools.

Griffin, located in Spalding County, is a southern suburb of the Atlanta metro area.

Debris liter a local business that was destroyed by a tornado that passed through downtown Selma on Thursday.

As of Thursday evening, there have been 34 preliminary tornado reports across Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky over the course of the day, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

At least one multi-county EF-1 tornado has been confirmed across northern Alabama by the National Weather Service in Huntsville, Alabama. The remainder of the tornado reports – including the potentially “long-track/significant” tornadoes near Selma, Alabama, and Griffin, Georgia – are expected to be surveyed by the local weather service offices in Birmingham and Atlanta on Friday.

Due to multiple tornado reports across Alabama and Georgia, both weather service offices expect that it could take several days before there is a final count of how many tornadoes occurred Thursday and the details regarding each tornado.

Three EF-1 tornadoes have been confirmed by the weather service office in Louisville, Kentucky. The tornadoes were located in Henry, Mercer and Boyle counties.

In addition to the tornado reports, there were more than 130 damaging wind reports recorded across Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.

Furthermore, 18 severe hail reports were recorded across Kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia. These hail reports ranged from quarter-size to golf ball-size.

Elmore County, Alabama, officials are still surveying the damage that was left behind following a powerful storm that tracked into the area.

Several communities on both sides of Lake Jordan were impacted, according to Barnett. In addition to homes being damaged in the county, there are also numerous trees down and roads blocked, he said.

One minor injury has been reported, he said, and first responders are still working throughout county.

Elmore County borders hard-hit Autauga County in central Alabama.

Officials in hard-hit Autauga County, Alabama, are continuing to assess damage from the trail of destruction that resulted in multiple homes being damaged or destroyed, a county official said. 

At least 20 homes were damaged or destroyed in the county, Gary Weaver, Autauga County EMA deputy director, told CNN. 

At least five people died in Autauga after severe weather ripped through the South Thursday.

The city council in Selma, Alabama, set aside $2 million in surplus funds for disaster recovery following a tornado that caused major damage to the heart of the city Thursday. Because of mass power outages, the council met on a sidewalk outside City Hall, illuminated with vehicle headlights.

“Thank God, no loss of life has been reported,” said Mayor James Perkins Jr.

The mayor added the power losses could make things uncomfortable for people overnight as temperatures drop.

“We’ve got to layer up and get ready,” he said. 

Perkins also asked residents to try to limit their water usage as treatment facilities are affected by the power outage.

“We are not in trouble yet, but all of this is really tied to how fast we can get the power restored,” Perkins said.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said six people died following the severe weather that hit the state on Thursday. 

Earlier, officials in Alabama’s Autauga County said at least 5 people were killed there.

Selma, Alabama suffered extensive damage on Thursday after a band of severe weather moved through the area. The storm resulted in more than two dozen tornadoes across the south. The tornado that struck Selma was on the ground for at least 50 miles and caused damage in seven counties across Alabama, according to the National Weather Service.

A firefighter walks back to the truck after putting out a fire that started after a tornado passed through downtown Selma, Alabama.

An aerial image from drone footage shows extensive damage in downtown Selma.

An upended vehicle sits amongst debris strewn about by the storm.

Workers remove debris from railroad tracks.

Workers prepare to board up windows broken by the storm.

A damaged car is covered by debris.

Homes were left devastated in LaGrange, Georgia, as severe weather swept through through the state Thursday.

Dra Bray posted videos to Facebook showing the damage done to the Baldwin Park neighborhood in Troup County.

The videos show what’s left of several homes as Bray records down the block. Some homes remain in fair shape while others have missing roofs, shattered windows, and collapsed garages. 

The Troup County Sheriff’s Office announced a tornado warning for the area and advised people to stay off the roads, according to a Facebook post. Officials also posted photos of trees and debris blocking Interstate 185 at mile marker 47 southbound.

This interstate, along with many other roads, are shut down, according to the agency.

Storm damage in Autauga County, Alabama.

At least five people are dead in Autauga County, Alabama, according to coroner Buster Barber, after severe weather that spawned tornadoes moved across the South on Thursday.

Emergency services respond to the storm in Autauga County, Alabama.