Severe weather: Heavy snow in Midwest; Tornadoes in Southeast; Airports and freeways close

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A severe winter storm that has blanketed much of the Midwest in snow continued its path eastward Tuesday and is expected to bring more snow to regions in the Upper Midwest -- while tornadoes arrived in the Southeast, forecasters said.

Multiple tornadoes touched down in Mississippi and Alabama and the National Weather Service issued warnings to remain in effect until 10 p.m. CST Tuesday.

Forecasters said the tornadoes may have resulted from the same supercell thunderstorm, and are unsure whether the same tornado touched down several times or the tornadoes consisted of five separate twisters.

Details on injuries or damage to the areas that saw tornadoes were not immediately known.

Cities including Nashville and Birmingham, Ala., were listed by the Climate Prediction Center as facing the most substantial tornado risk.

Meanwhile, severe snowstorms continue to roll across the Midwest, prompting multiple winter storm watches and warnings by the NWS for parts of five states from Kansas to Minnesota.

The snow shut down hundreds of miles of multiple interstates -- including I-80, I-70 and I-29. In fact, 100 miles of I-80 in Nebraska was closed due to white-out conditions. Commercial flights at airports were also canceled and electricity was knocked out to thousands of residents across the region.

More than a foot of snow was recorded in parts of Nebraska, forecasters said, and other areas received between 6 and 12 inches.

The severe weather also brought strong winds and frigid temperatures in some states.