A wave of severe storms is currently battering the southern United States, following a day of destructive weather that claimed the lives of at least three individuals due to tornadoes and large hail in the region.
A powerful line of storms swept into Atlanta toward the end of the morning rush hour, leading to significant delays at major airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday morning
Simultaneously, tornado warnings were issued for parts of Tennessee and Alabama. These storms are part of a continuing pattern of torrential rain and tornadoes this week, stretching from the Plains to the Midwest and now into the Southeast. Since Monday, at least four people have died as a result.
This weather activity follows a turbulent April, during which the U.S. witnessed 300 confirmed tornadoes, the second-highest on record for the month and the most since 2011. As of Thursday, storms had left over a quarter-million customers without power in North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri, according to PowerOutage.us.
A storm on Wednesday in northeastern Tennessee caused damage to homes, injuries, downed power lines, and trees, and claimed the life of a 22-year-old man in a car in Claiborne County, north of Knoxville, officials reported.
A second fatality occurred south of Nashville in Columbia, where officials suspect a tornado touched down, blowing homes off their foundations.
Due to storm damage overnight, including fallen trees on houses and vehicles around Clarkesville, schools in several Tennessee counties were closed on Thursday. Some districts north of Atlanta canceled in-person classes or delayed start times. No injuries were reported. "We're just trying to clean up right now and wait for the next round," said Lynn Smith, director of the Habersham County Emergency Management Agency.
Torrential rain resulted in a flash flood emergency and water rescues northeast of Nashville. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary ground stop at Nashville's main airport, and the weather service issued a tornado emergency, its highest alert level, for nearby areas. In North Carolina, a state of emergency was declared on Wednesday night for Gaston County, west of Charlotte, following a storm that toppled power lines and trees, including one that landed on a car. One person in the car was killed, and another was taken to a hospital, officials said.
These storms followed heavy rain, strong winds, hail, and tornadoes in parts of the central U.S. on Monday, including a tornado that tore through an Oklahoma town, resulting in one fatality.
On Tuesday, the Midwest experienced the brunt of the severe weather, with tornadoes touching down in parts of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, according to the weather service.
The Kalamazoo area in Michigan was particularly affected, with a FedEx facility being severely damaged, downed power lines trapping approximately 50 people.
Tornadoes were also confirmed near Pittsburgh, in central Arkansas, and in northern West Virginia. The West Virginia twister was at least the 11th tornado this year in the state, which typically experiences an average of two tornadoes per year.