Driving Rain Hits South; Late Snow Blankets Rockies

Thunderstorms whipped up strong winds, hail and driving rain in the Deep South on Saturday, while snow and freezing temperatures gripped the northern plains and Rockies.

A line of thunderstorms doused parts of Kentucky, Indiana and Louisiana on Saturday after battering a wide area of Texas with heavy rain, hail and several tornadoes Friday night.

Thunderstorms produced hail that pounded Jonesboro, Ga., and Lenox, Ala., where gusty winds knocked down trees, authorities said. Golfball-size hail pelted Fayetteville, Ga., and winds up to 68 m.p.h. whipped Columbus, Ga.

Showers inundated Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Nebraska Panhandle, Utah, Nevada and Oregon.

The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings for southeast Kentucky and parts of Tennessee, Indiana and North Carolina. A tornado watch was posted for parts of Alabama, Georgia, northeast Florida and South Carolina.

A twister in the southeast Texas town of Churchill damaged several mobile homes but caused no injuries late Friday, officials said.

The twisters were the final blow of a two-day storm system that dumped more than 16 inches of rain on parts of north and central Texas. The storm caused at least four deaths and forced the evacuation of more than 200 people.

Snow closed several roads Saturday in Yellowstone Park, Wyo., and in Colorado. Three inches of fresh snow covered Glacier Airport at Kalispell, Mont., and up to 6 inches was reported north of Jackson, Wyo. Between 2 to 6 inches fell over North Dakota.

Winter weather warnings remained over the higher elevations in Wyoming, Montana and the northwest portion of the plains, where as much as a foot of snow is expected, the weather service reported.

Snow warnings were posted over North Dakota, southeast Idaho, Colorado and the northern Cascades of Oregon.