An unconfirmed tornado has knocked down trees, flipped Dumpsters and damaged the roof of the nearby WalMart in Athens.
A forecaster at the National Weather Service in Huntsville said the suspected tornado started about a mile south-southeast of Athens and moved in a line toward southwest Ardmore Friday.
The unsettled weather system continued to concern forecasters as it moved north toward Tennessee.
Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson says he saw the backside of a wall cloud that had a tail. Police followed as it moved up Route 31 to Interstate 65.
He said a minor injury was reported as a woman rushed to find shelter. Signs at a strip mall and a Zaxby's restaurant were also blown down.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.