Three people are dead after dangerous and powerful storms swept through the South on Thursday after tornadoes made a powerful mark outside Nashville.
During rush hour in Atlanta, the storm swept through the area before moving north toward North Carolina. Flights out of Atlanta and Charlotte were delayed as a result. The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said there was an “enhanced risk” for severe weather from Texas to South Carolina and those in between.
Storms from Wednesday night left more than 100,000 homes and businesses without power as of Thursday afternoon. One storm turned into a tornado, which created a path of destruction outside Nashville. In one town in particular, more than 100 homes were damaged by a tornado with 140 mph winds.
Tornado watches were issued by the National Weather Service branches of Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee until 3 a.m. Central on Thursday.
“I get up and look out, and it was all hell breaking loose outside,” Bob Booth, one area resident, said. “Then the top half of one of my trees goes down across the road.”
Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) said it was “heartbreaking” to see at least two people dead and four others injured in his state following the storms.
“To observe another family in a moment of crisis is hard to watch, but it is hopeful to be able to walk up and see their interaction with their neighbors and comments that they’re going to make it,” Lee said.
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Nashville’s tornadoes moved further southeast, turning into the Thursday storms that affected Atlanta and North Carolina.
Since Monday, 39 states have been put under severe weather warnings. On Wednesday and Thursday, an estimated 220 million people nationwide were under some manner of severe weather risk. In April, the United States saw 300 confirmed tornadoes, the second-highest amount in one month since 2011.
