Millions of people across the United States were bracing for extreme weather on Wednesday as a powerful system of thunderstorms swept across several states, bringing intense winds, rain, and other dangerous weather conditions. As the day began, more than 275,000 residents in Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Kentucky were without power due to severe storms, according to poweroutage.us.
The majority of power outages were reported in West Virginia, where Governor Jim Justice declared a state of emergency in several counties due to the dangerous weather. The governor’s declaration cited “flooding, downed trees, power outages, and road blockages” caused by the severe storms. At least 13 homes in Fayette county, West Virginia, were damaged, and several non-life-threatening injuries were reported, according to CNN.
Several tornadoes were spotted across the Midwest and in southern states on Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service reported. Tornadoes were seen in Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia, with at least one death reported in Oklahoma, according to the New York Times.
Millions of residents in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida remained under a tornado watch, with the warning issued by the National Weather Service set to expire at 1pm ET. The watch included major cities such as Tallahassee, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia. The National Weather Service Tallahassee office warned that “continuing to watch organized storms moving across parts of southwest Georgia and Southern Florida this morning, with damaging winds, tornadoes, isolated hail, and frequent lightning as the main concerns.”
Extreme Weather Brings Destruction Across USSevere thunderstorms also caused extensive damage across the Midwest. Residents in Vanderburgh, southwest Indiana, reported multiple instances of downed power lines and damage to their homes, according to Fox Weather. Several vehicles in southern Indiana were also flipped over amid high winds, a spokesperson for the Indiana state police in Sellersburg told CNN.
Several counties in Kentucky remained under a flood advisory warning after heavy rainfall in the area, with the National Weather Service warning affected residents to avoid flooded roads and report damage to local emergency responders. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after severe storms caused “heavy rain, hail, lightning, possible tornadoes, and intense damaging winds” throughout the state. Beshear reported that there have been reports of damaged buildings throughout Kentucky, but no reported fatalities.
Meanwhile, a major winter storm is expected to hit several states in the Midwest and the New England area, with nearly 12 million residents under winter weather alerts. Intense hail and violent winds remain a possibility, according to CNN. Parts of Wisconsin and northern areas of Michigan are already under a blizzard warning, according to the National Weather Service.