At least three people were killed Wednesday as powerful storms pounded North Carolina, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee, bringing heavy rain, wind and hail to some areas. The severe weather comes a day after widespread storms ripped through the Midwest and tornadoes hit Michigan.
North Carolina officials announced one storm-related death in Gaston County, just west of Charlotte, as they braced for more severe weather overnight.
One person was killed in Claiborne County in northeastern Tennessee when a tree fell on a vehicle as the storm moved through around 10 a.m. local time, the county's emergency management agency said.
Another person died Wednesday night in Maury County, Tennessee. 'Large and destructive' tornado It was discovered near Spring Hill, about 55 miles south of Nashville. The storm struck near Columbia, a city of about 45,000 people about 10 miles away. Rita Thompson, a spokeswoman for Morley Regional Health in Columbia, confirmed the death.
Thompson said three patients were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and a fourth was in critical condition.
Pat Woodmansee, deputy director of the county's Office of Emergency Management, said the storm left a trail of debris and trapped people in damaged homes.
The Maury County School District announced on social media that schools would be closed Thursday due to storm damage, while several other school districts around Nashville also announced closures due to flooding and severe weather.
Multiple storms have passed through the city of Huntsville, Alabama, knocking down numerous trees and power lines, according to a city government statement.tornado It was confirmed there on Wednesday night.
In Athens, a city about 32 miles northwest of Huntsville, authorities reported heavy hail and flooding of roads. Officials were responding to a possible structure fire caused by a downed power line, city spokeswoman Holly Holman said.
The National Weather Service issued a series of tornado warnings for cities in the south-central United States as the storm continued to batter the Midwest for three days and moved into the eastern United States by Wednesday evening. Early Thursday morning, warnings were still in effect for parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.
More than 200,000 customers were without power early Thursday across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Missouri, according to Poweroutage.us.
Heavy rain prompted flash flood warnings for parts of Tennessee and Missouri on Wednesday. Forecasters said flooding had already been reported in Missouri cities such as Cole Camp and Lincoln, and could spread to small streams and streams, highways and other low-lying areas.
judson jones Contributed to the report.