A multiday stretch of dangerous weather will punctuate the transition from 2021 to 2022, capping the most active and the deadliest December on record for tornadoes. New Year's Eve and Day could feature jarring clashes of the air masses in a springlike weather pattern that could once again brew severe thunderstorms. Strong thunderstorms rolled through Alabama and Georgia overnight Wednesday, dropping at least two tornadoes, including a "large and extremely dangerous" one in Alabama's Chilton and Shelby counties. The tornado lofted debris high enough that it was visible on radar before the twister crossed Interstate 65 and toppled trees. December tornado record crushed by historic onslaught of storms in U.S. Thursday through Saturday and potentially Sunday could all feature an attendant severe-weather risk before conditions relax somewhat as cold air spills south early next week. A glance at the upcoming weather pattern indicates that below-average temperatures may prevail and extinguish the odds of any major warm-ups for a little while. The National Weather Service on Wednesday hoisted a Level 3 (out of five), or "enhanced" risk of severe weather, which stretched from southwestern Tennessee and eastern Arkansas through northern Mississippi and Alabama. A tornado watch was issued, citing a "high" probability of tornadoes, but only a couple appear to have touched down. No severe weather was reported in Mississippi. Tornado that struck Winfield, AL tonight illuminated by power flash #alwx pic.twitter.com/aZKsdLbMjv A limiting factor in the episode was likely storm mode. Thunderstorms fired along a west-southwest to north-northeast oriented temperature boundary, but because the mid-level flow was also in that direction, cells didn't move off the boundary. That caused them to merge and become messy, reducing the overall tornado and severe-weather risk. Tornado damage in Winfield #alwx pic.twitter.com/Dxh65a9mtU There was a narrow corridor in northern Alabama at the edge of the instability, or atmospheric "fuel," gradient, where a few storms were able to take advantage of the overlap between strong shear, or changing winds with height, and "juice." That occurred mainly after dark, with one lone rotating supercell thunderstorm firing just south of Tuscaloosa, Ala. It passed south of Moundville and near Brent and Centreville, areas that were affected on March 25, 2021, by an EF3 tornado that tracked more than 80 miles. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service reported a possible brief tornado in Bainbridge, Ga., on Wednesday afternoon. The service will survey damage from the event Thursday, potentially reporting details that afternoon.