Severe storms rumble across eastern U.S., with one tornado confirmed in Florida

More severe storms and flash flooding continued to hit parts of the United States on Thursday after a series of severe storms swept across several states, bringing heavy rain and tornadoes, causing widespread damage and killing at least one person.

A tornado was confirmed Thursday near St. Johns, Florida, and a tornado warning was in effect for parts of central Florida until 3 p.m. with severe thunderstorms across the state.

In addition to tornadoes, storms can produce damaging wind gusts, flooding and small hail.

Strong storms possible today Central Florida and the Ohio Valley are home to 30 million people. Cities in risk zones include Orlando, Florida; Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio; and Charleston, West Virginia.

About 17 million people are under flood watches from Indiana to Ohio and western Pennsylvania to parts of northern Maine.

Excessive runoff is expected after repeated showers and storms hit the region, which could cause flooding in some rivers, creeks, streams and urban areas.

The start of the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, has been postponed due to weather, with the first round postponed to 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

Wednesday’s storm

The severe weather comes after storms swept across the south earlier this week into Wednesday, triggering more than 150 reports of damaging winds in the past 48 hours.

The line of severe storms moved continuously for more than 650 miles from west of Houston to south of Tallahassee.

In Wednesday’s disaster, an EF-2 tornado struck Lake Charles, Louisiana, blowing off roofs and downing power lines with 115 mph winds, and another EF-2 tornado touched down, the National Weather Service said. In Port Arthur, Texas.

In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Wednesday that there had been one weather-related death in Scott County and one in Grenada County.

Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee attributed the death of Shirley Wilson, 64, to the storm because her oxygen machine turned off when her home lost power. Her grandson called 911, but emergency personnel didn’t contact her until about 20 minutes later, and she was pronounced dead, the Associated Press reported.

In addition, Reeves said 72 homes were damaged or destroyed in Grenada, Hinds, Marshall, Scott, Warren and Yazoo counties in the state.

In New Orleans, streets turned into rivers during heavy rains.National Weather Service crews report damage Slidell and saint francesville Although additional investigation is needed, it is at least consistent with Wednesday’s EF-1 tornado.

There was also a flash flood emergency on Wednesday.

In Kirbyville, Texas, 15 to 17 inches of rain in the area caused Pin Oak Creek to rise 10 feet in less than six hours, prompting Jasper County to declare a disaster, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday. The city was “under water”.

In New Orleans, 5.95 inches of rain fell in less than six hours, and Wednesday’s storm total reached a record 6.24 inches. Meanwhile, Tallahassee hit 7 inches in 8 hours. Both cities received more rainfall than their average monthly rainfall in just a few hours.

Tonight’s weather forecast

National Weather Service in Tallahassee Already warned A flash flood emergency occurred early Thursday and he said: “Many roads throughout the city are impassable and water is entering homes. Please stay where you are and do not drive through flooded roads!”

According to PowerOutage.us, as of 4:30 p.m. ET, more than 115,000 people were without power nationwide, including nearly 58,000 in Louisiana, more than 25,000 in Mississippi and more than 15,000 in Georgia. More than 17,000 people in Florida were without power. .

Rounds of heavy rain and occasional thunder will affect the Great Lakes, interior Northeast and the I-95 corridor from Washington to Boston Thursday night into Friday.

Along with the flooding will come strong winds, with peak gusts expected to reach 36 mph in Atlanta, 40 mph in Chicago, 43 mph in Detroit, 40 mph in Boston and 39 mph in New York by Friday. miles per hour.