THE SELMA TIMES-JOURNAL

Thunderstorms ripped through Western Alabama on Thursday, leaving some destruction in their wake.

Selma and Dallas County were spared any significant damage. A dispatcher at the Dallas County Sheriff&8217;s Department said authorities received a report of a tree down earlier in the afternoon, but no damage.

Schools in the county and city school districts as well as local private schools announced shortly before noon they would close because of the threatening weather. Those schools will re-open today.

The forecast today calls for sunny skies and cooler temperatures. Today&8217;s high is forecasted at 59 degrees. The low tonight is expected to reach 36 degrees under partly cloudy skies.

The rest of the state didn&8217;t fare as well as Selma and Dallas County. The Associated Press reported two possible tornadoes in Lamar and Tuscaloosa counties.

The National Weather Service office in Birmingham will send storm survey teams today to those two areas to determine if twisters actually hit the ground.

On its storm center Web site the National Weather Service reported two houses were destroyed in Sulligent in West Alabama. A church and four other buildings were damaged by high winds.

In Vernon, a tree fell on a vehicle and trapped a woman, who was freed by rescuers and taken to a nearby hospital. An 18-wheeler also jackknifed in the area, according to authorities.

The National Weather Service issued a string of tornado warnings for Western Alabama for the afternoon and evening.

Those storms rolled in from Mississippi, where at least two people were killed in traffic accidents and about a dozen injured. More than 100 homes were damaged in Mississippi or suffered power outages.