Alabama tornado: Emergency declared as 'deadly' twister tears through US state: 'Take cover now!'

Residents across have been warned to "take cover now" amid a emergency.

Forecasters identified a twister on the radar across western Madison County and eastern Limestone County at 6:24pm local time on Tuesday (12.24am Wednesday in UK). It was, at the time, recorded at a speed of 35mph.

Officials at the in Huntsville shared an alert to residents' phones, which read: "You are in a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. TAKE COVER NOW!" and reporting a "deadly tornado" currently on the ground. You are in a life-threatening situation. Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter.

"Mobile homes will be destroyed. Considerable damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles is likely and complete destruction is possible."

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The warning remains in effect until 6:45pm local time (12.45am Thursday UK), with the tornado expected to reach:

• Madison and Huntsville by 6:30pm,

• University of Alabama in Huntsville and Redstone Arsenal by 6:35pm, and

• Alabama A and M University by 6:45pm.

Other areas in the path of this potentially catastrophic storm include Belle Mina, French Mill, Mooresville, Capshaw, Ryland, Hampton Cove, Ripley, Brownsboro, and Farley.

Authorities have urged everyone in the area to take immediate action.

"To protect your life, TAKE COVER NOW! Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building,” the National Service urged.

"Avoid windows. If in a mobile home, a vehicle or outdoors, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.”

The situation is still unfolding, and emergency services are bracing for possible major damage as the storm continues its path through populated areas.

The National Weather Service has been threatened with cuts since returned to power. This is despite the US being on track to see more tornadoes this year than in 2024, which was the second-busiest tornado year on record. Forecasters said there was at least a 10% risk of tornadoes for 10.6 million people in parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas this year. Weather service veterans expressed concern about the agency's ability to keep up in the face of the cuts.

Rich Thompson, lead operations forecaster at the NWS Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said the job is getting done. But he acknowledged that staffing cuts have “made it harder on us.” He added: "It has made it hard on the local offices just to make sure that we have all of our important duties covered. But, I mean, most of the people take those important duties seriously, so we’re going to do what it takes to cover it. I hope we’re not in the same staffing situation long term. ... It would be hard to sustain this for months or years."