4 dead as tornadoes, 'catastrophic' rainfall pummel US: Live updates
4 dead as tornadoes, 'catastrophic' rainfall pummel US: Live updates
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Severe storms rips roof from Michigan home
Heavy rain and wind tore the roof off of a mobile home, leaving support beams exposed. Parts of Michigan were hit with over 90 mph winds.
Deadly storms that have caused widespread damage across the central U.S. were still bearing down on much of the country Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands without power as forecasters warned of historic flooding.
Dozens of tornadoes were reported across Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri on Wednesday and overnight, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. Images show widespread damage, with roofs collapsed, vehicles overturned and trees snapped and uprooted.
At least four deaths have been tied to the storms. Officials in Missouri said one person was killed Wednesday in the southeast part of the state, KFVS-TV reported. In Tennessee, officials reported three deaths across McNairy, Obion and Fayette counties.
Over 30 million people from Texas to Ohio and West Virginia were still at risk Thursday of powerful tornadoes and major flooding, which is only expected to worsen over the coming days as some parts of the country receive upwards of 15 inches of rain.
"This is a catastrophic, potentially historic heavy rainfall and flash flood event," the National Weather Service said in a forecast, adding that people should prepare for "severe disruptions to daily life."
Yes, it's an atmospheric river that's causing some of the weather issues in the central U.S.
Normally associated with West Coast storms, atmospheric rivers are ribbons of water vapor that extend hundreds or thousands of miles from the tropics to the U.S. In general, atmospheric rivers pick up water vapor from the warm, moist air of tropical regions and then drop the water over land in cooler regions as rain or snow.
"This moisture plume, known as an atmospheric river, will be tropical in nature and originate from the Caribbean," AccuWeather meteorologist William Clark said. "Tropical moisture raises the risk of excessive rainfall."
He said it will behave like a tropical storm moving slowly across the area. However, with multiple rounds forecast in four to five days, it may be more like three or four tropical storms passing over the same region, with each unloading copious amounts of rain.
– Doyle Rice
Four people were injured after a suspected tornado formed in Ballard County, Kentucky, located about four hours from Louisville on the eastern border of Kentucky and Illinois.
Ballard County Emergency Management said in a Facebook post that four sustained injuries in Gage, an unincorporated community, when attempting to take shelter in their vehicle under the carport of a church.
The church suffered a direct hit from the debris, causing significant structural damage, and all four were taken to a local hospital. One was in critical condition, while the other three were facing non-life-threatening injuries.
– Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal
Hundreds of flights were canceled and delayed early Thursday as airports grappled with severe weather sweeping across much of the central U.S.
About 140 flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and more than 80 were delayed, according to FlightAware. At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, more than 150 flights were canceled and 129 delayed.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that ground stops could be issued at Dallas-Fort Worth International and Denver International Airport.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said several strike teams are in areas impacted by tornadoes that swept across the state Wednesday night and early Thursday.
The state agency released video on social media of troopers responding to tornado reports, searching through the wreckage of a flattened home near Selmer, a small city just north of Mississippi, which took a direct hit.
"They're out in the middle of a lightning storm, looking for anyone who might be trapped or hurt – while strong storm cells passed just north and south of them, possibly with more tornadoes," the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.
In Brownsburg, Indiana, a suspected tornado collapsed a section of a large warehouse Wednesday evening, trapping one woman inside before she was rescued, local media outlets reported.
"Lots of storm damage across central Indiana," the state police said in a statement Thursday on X, urging people to stay off flooded roads and avoid debris.
In northern Arkansas, the National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency, the highest warning possible, as a "large and destructive tornado' hit Lake City and surrounding areas in the northeastern part of the state.
The police department in the nearby area of Blytheville issued a stark warning overnight: "SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY! A tornado has been spotted on the ground."
A member of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security took to a hotel bathroom to shelter after a tornado warning was issued in Middle Tennessee overnight.
Special Agent Jason Pack said he began sheltering around 3:20 a.m. after a tornado warning activated in Davidson County, which encompasses the city of Nashville.
"The emergency alert came out and we're taking cover," he said in a video posed on the Tennessee Highway Patrol's Facebook page. "We do take our own advice."
He urged residents to keep up with weather updates as the storms pass over the state.
School districts across the country canceled class on Thursday, citing the dangerous weather conditions brought by a massive springtime storm system.
Districts in Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio announced a delayed start to class, a shift to virtual learning or a complete closing of schools.
In Tennessee, Metro Nashville Public Schools, a district that serves over 81,000 students, closed for the day and canceled all after-school practices, games and meetings.
Ahead of the storms, several governors declared states of emergency to unlock funds and resources to assist in the preparation of the severe weather and eventual recovery effort.
States of emergency were declared in Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee, with officials urging residents to prepare for potentially historic flash flooding and tornadoes by packing a go-bag and staying updated on the weather in their areas.
"This is a reminder for all of Kentucky that we are facing one of the most serious weather events we've had forecast," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement on X late Wednesday. "Please stay alert, take all precautions, and be prepared."
From Mississippi to Michigan, more than 387,000 homes and businesses were without power early Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.
The states with the most outages were Indiana, 114,805; Michigan, 114,774; Ohio, 75,076; Kentucky, 39,301; and Arkansas, 24,056.
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