JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Violent storms, studded with hail and packing intense winds, ripped through the Deep South Tuesday.

The storms threatened millions of people, prompting tornado warnings Monday in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. The area around Jacksonville State University in Alabama was among the hardest hit, and thousands of buildings and vehicles were battered by large hail after the night of violent weather.

Several shelters opened, schools were closed, and trees and power lines were down by Tuesday morning. Jacksonville State advised people to avoid traveling near campus. Most students were away for spring break.

Part of the roof was ripped off the nursing school and Pete Mathews Coliseum, a 3,500-seat basketball arena. Pieces of lumber and bent metal covered the ground,along with insulation that looked like yellow cotton candy.

Across the nation, a potent storm approached southern and central California, imperiling communities where recent wildfires have devastated hillsides and created the potential for mudslides. Thousands of people were under evacuation orders.

The National Weather Service said an atmospheric river — a huge plume of subtropical moisture — was aimed at the state’s Pacific coast.

ASSOCIATED PRESS