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Tornado hits Baldwin County on day of storms

Robertsdale tornado damage.JPG
APR/Guy Busby

The weather system that swept through Alabama Tuesday night and Wednesday morning generated at least one tornado in Central Baldwin County.

Residents are assessing damage in Summerdale and Robertsdale Wednesday after a tornado hit the area just before midnight.

“We had a tornado confirmed on the ground in Summerdale around 11 and passed through Silverhill and into Robertsdale around 11:15,” said Jessica Waters with the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency. “Then it continued north along County Road 65 and lifted just before reaching I-10.”

Waters said no injuries have been reported, but some buildings were damaged in Robertsdale as the tornado passed through the downtown area.

“Most of the damage that we received has been along 59 in downtown Robertsdale. It’s minor structural damage," she said. "No businesses [are] closed that I know of at this point. Crews are already out cleaning and everything, so everybody’s doing a really good job.”

The storm passed through Mobile and Washington counties as it entered the state from Mississippi. A tornado from the system also damaged areas near New Orleans earlier Tuesday.

Waters said the system also generated waterspouts in Mobile Bay.

"We had two confirmed waterspouts. One was just north of Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay around 9:30 last night and one confirmed around Ewing Bay, plus Mobile Bay around 10:30 last night," she said.

County and local officials are still checking damage reports around the area and are working to determine the strength of the tornado.

Guy Busby is an Alabama native and lifelong Gulf Coast resident. He has been covering people, events and interesting occurrences on America’s South Coast for more than 20 years. His experiences include riding in hot-air balloons and watching a ship being sunk as a diving reef. His awards include a national Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists as part of the APR team on the series “Oil and Water,” on the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Some of his other interests include writing, photography and history. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Silverhill.
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