Strong storms tracking through the central and eastern US Wednesday killed at least two people in Tennessee and as night fell, flash flooding and more tornadoes were slamming the state – including one twister that carved a path of destruction in communities south of Nashville.

Tornado warnings also were in effect late Wednesday in several southern states, including in northern Alabama, where a “large and destructive tornado” was in the area of Henagar, a city of a couple thousand people roughly 55 miles east of Huntsville, the National Weather Service said. A tornado warning also was issued earlier Wednesday night in the Huntsville area.

The National Weather Service issued tornado watches for parts of Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee until 3 a.m. CT Thursday. A tornado watch means severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are possible in the watch area.

The National Weather Service said it had four tornado reports Wednesday from Tennessee, with two from Maury County, where a tornado emergency had been in effect. A “confirmed large and destructive tornado” was near the city of Spring Hill around 5:50 p.m. CT, the weather service said.

At least one person was killed and four others were injured in Maury County during the tornado, Maury Regional Medical Center spokesperson Rita Thompson told CNN. Three of those patients have non-life-threatening injuries and one is in serious condition, Thompson said.

The area had widespread damage, with trees down, officials in the county told CNN. Buildings were also damaged, but Maury County Commissioner Eric Previti said he wasn’t aware of the magnitude.

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