National Weather Service: 34 Twisters on Christmas Day.

[Mark]

MOBILE, Ala. - Authorities early Wednesday were trying to get a clearer picture of the widespread damage done by Christmas night storms in Alabama as daylight revealed the extent of the destruction.

Thirty-four tornadoes were reported in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama during the outbreak Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

"People who had hoped to spend time with family over the holiday are instead cleaning up after a tornado. The second one  in 5 days right here in Mobile, Ala.," reports meteorologist Jim Cantore from Mobile, Ala.

The National Weather Service reported damage ranging from toppled trees to destroyed homes in more than a dozen counties, most of them in south Alabama, and teams were out assessing how much of the destruction was caused by tornadoes that skipped across the state Tuesday.

The damage was worst in Mobile's downtown area, where a school, church and several homes were slammed by a likely tornado on Christmas Day before the storm system that moved to other parts of the state. The storms were blamed for three deaths, several injuries, and left homes from Louisiana to Alabama damaged.

http://www.weather.com/news/euclid-tornado-news-20121225

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