Deadly storms and tornadoes leave a path of destruction from Georgia to Illinois
By Dalia Faheid and Gene Norman, CNN
(CNN) — At least three people were killed and several were injured after a powerful storm system spawned tornadoes and damaging storms from the South to the Ohio Valley.
Two people were killed by falling trees when storms swept through Pennsylvania on Wednesday, CNN affiliate WPVI reported. A 70-year-old man was killed in Aston Township after a tree fell on his vehicle, officials told WPVI. An 82-year-old woman was killed in Collegeville when a tree was uprooted from rain-soaked ground and fell on her car, the Collegeville Police Department confirmed to CNN. Mary Baker died after she was rescued from her vehicle, the police said.
In Kentucky, at least one person was killed as a result of destructive storms there on Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear said. A man was killed in a car accident in Campbell County as brutal storms battered the state.
No other deaths or injuries were reported in the state, Beshear said. “But listen, the loss of one life, and I believe this is a young man, is a tragic occurrence and we’ll be praying for him and his family,” Beshear said. The governor enacted a statewide a state of emergency Tuesday after the Lexington area saw “significant damage” from the storms.
The storms also injured at least 10 people in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just north of Louisville, the town’s mayor told CNN affiliate WLKY. Photos posted by the mayor showed chunks taken out of several homes’ roofs and debris strewn about an area neighborhood.
Severe thunderstorms brought “flooding, downed trees, power outages, and road blockages” across West Virginia, according to Gov. Jim Justice, who declared a state of emergency Tuesday for Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln and Nicholas counties.
At least 13 homes were damaged and some residents were injured, Fayette County, West Virginia, Office of Emergency Management director Kevin Walker told CNN. The injuries were non-life threatening, Walker said.
“Some are destroyed, and some have major damage,” Walker said.
Sixteen tornadoes were reported Tuesday and Wednesday morning across Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia, along with dozens of damaging wind reports, including gusts topping 100 mph in Kentucky.
A tornado ripped through Conyers, Georgia, just southeast of Atlanta early Wednesday morning, downing power lines and causing damage there, according to CNN affiliate WXIA. The storm sent a tree smashing through a teen’s car and into his lap. The teen was rescued and taken to a hospital, WXIA reported.
The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City said the twister was rated EF2, traveled approximately 9.5 miles and was 800 yards wide. Winds were as high as 115 mph.
No injuries were reported.
An Ohio elementary school was left in shambles in Proctorville after a tornado-warned storm moved through the area. Luckily, students at Fairland West Elementary were on spring break, but the school will remained closed for now, school district officials told CNN.
More than 53,000 utility customers in West Virginia remained in the dark Wednesday night after powerful winds with gusts topping 90 mph blasted through the state Tuesday, according to poweroutage.us.
In Tennessee, a funeral home and some homes in the town of Sunbright suffered damage from the storm system after it brought two tornadoes to the state on Tuesday, according to Matthew Brown, Director of Morgan County E-911.
A tornado with winds up to 105 mph hit Sunbright and was given an EF1 rating after a National Weather Service survey team assessed damage Wednesday.
Structural damage was also reported throughout Barnsdall, Oklahoma, according to Barnsdall Police, after four tornadoes swept through the state on Monday. Homes were damaged, garages were destroyed and roofs came off some of the houses, Officer Eric Sofian told CNN.
“I was on duty and patrolling the streets when it came through,” he said. “There was a lot of heavy wind, a lot of lightning and I could see a lot of sparks flying from the power lines.”
Three more tornadoes hit Missouri on Monday, per the Storm Prediction Center.
In southern Indiana, multiple vehicles were flipped over “due to high winds or (a) possible tornado” on Interstate 265, Indiana State Police in Sellersburg said, adding minor injuries were reported.
Storms are bringing the threat of twisters, strong winds and large hail, to parts of the Southeast and East Coast from Florida to the mid-Atlantic. Over 30 million people are under a threat of some level of severe weather Wednesday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Long-lasting snowstorm and strong winds
A long-duration winter storm will produce significant snow and gusty winds across the Great Lakes and Northeast, the National Weather Service says. Nearly 12 million people – mainly across northern New England – are under winter weather alerts, according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy, wet snow will persist across Wisconsin and Upper Michigan into Thursday. As much as two feet of snow is expected to fall in parts of Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, prompting a blizzard warning due to the combination of strong winds and heavy snow. As of 10 a.m. ET, parts of La Crosse, Wisconsin, had seen more than 14 inches of snow.
The conditions knocked out power to nearly 86,000 customers in the two states as of Wednesday evening, according to poweroutage.us.
Heavy snow and some sleet was moving into northern New York, most of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine later Wednesday afternoon. Snow accumulations of 6 to 14 inches are possible, with sleet accumulations of up to an inch. Significant snow accumulations over 12 inches are likely over northern New York and central New England, according to the weather service.
Some impacts to travel and power outages are expected due to the combination of heavy snow and gusty winds. Whiteout conditions and snow-covered roads could result in hazardous travel conditions in the regions, while the heavy, wet snow and strong wind gusts could cause power outages and downed trees.
Moderate coastal flooding could happen in portions of the Northeast coast late Wednesday through Thursday, the weather service says. That could result in widespread roadway flooding, coastal and bayside flooding, impassable roads and damage to vulnerable structures.
“A strong storm will bring impacts to the area through Thursday,” the National Weather Service in New York said. “Strong to damaging winds, heavy rain, and widespread minor to moderate coastal flooding during times of high tide later Wednesday and early Thursday.”
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CNN’s Taylor Ward, Elizabeth Wolfe, Christina Maxouris, Raja Razek, Jamiel Lynch, Brammhi Balarajan, Celina Tebor, Mary Gilbert and Robert Shackelford contributed to this report.
