Severe weather that has claimed the life of at least three people in the last 24 hours and destroyed homes across the South is set to continue, as forecasters warn of thunderstorms, flash flooding and possible tornadoes Thursday and into Friday.
More than 200,000 energy customers were without power across southeastern states as of 6 a.m. ET Thursday, including 95,000 in North Carolina.
One person was confirmed dead in Columbia, Tennessee, in a suspected tornado on Wednesday, as devastating winds brought down trees and power lines. Elsewhere a 22-year-old named as Bryce Edward Hentnick died when a tree fell onto his car in Claiborne County, north of Knoxville, NBC affiliate WSMV of Nashville reported.
The same hazard killed one unidentified person in Gaston County, North Carolina, west of Charlotte, where a fallen tree trapped two people inside their car.
A statement from Gaston County said that firefighters were called to the incident on Wednesday afternoon — the other person inside was rescued and taken to a local hospital. A state of emergency was declared across the county Wednesday night, as almost 45% of energy customers were without power.
A 9-year-old boy — son of Rutherford County’s director of schools, James Sullivan — was in a critical condition Wednesday night after falling into a storm drain while trying to retrieve a lost shoe, WSMV reported.
“You will also hear that our Director of School’s son was involved in an accident tonight during the storm. He is stable but critical and is receiving medical treatment tonight. We ask that you please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers,” the school system said in a message to parents Wednesday night.
Tornado warnings were still in place for much of Tennessee, parts of Georgia and South Carolina Thursday morning. A video shot in Henagar, Alabama, Thursday morning showed funnel clouds, heavy rain and lightning.
Aerial footage showed the extent of the destruction in Tennessee on Wednesday, where roofs were torn from houses and long lines of trees were toppled.
One house in Columbia was reduced to rubble, with only a few walls left standing.
Flash flooding in Springfield, Tennessee, north of Nashville, made roads impassable and partially submerged cars.
The severe weather is set to continue. A weather front will move from the mid-Atlantic to the Ohio Valley before moving south, the National Weather Service said.
The weather system will continue into Friday, bringing heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes to eastern Texas, Louisiana, central Mississippi, southern Alabama and southern Georgia.
The weather service warned in an update Thursday morning that this could generate winds of up to 75mph or more, and hail with a diameter of 2 inches or more.
Heavy rain could create flash flooding. “The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas the most vulnerable,” the weather service said.
