Powerful storms kill 3 people as tornadoes, hailstorms sweep across Central US

Chuck Blackburns’ wife survived the tornado that destroyed their home. He and friends walked four miles through downed trees and power piles to check on her.

Powerful storms barreled through the Central and Eastern United States Wednesday and killed at least three people a day after multiple tornadoes caused widespread damage and more than a dozen injuries.

As officials and residents began cleanup efforts from the overnight storms and tornadoes, millions of others were preparing for more severe weather. Meteorologists expect a slew of storms to wallop the central U.S. with torrential rain, hail and possible tornadoes beginning Wednesday afternoon and continuing through the night.

The tornadoes are part of a multi-state outbreak that began May 6 and has spawned dozens of tornado reports since. More than 22 million people were under a tornado watch Wednesday.

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Portions of eight states – Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee – were under a tornado watch Wednesday afternoon, meaning conditions are ripe for tornadoes to form. Several tornado warnings were issued across portions of Tennessee, where at least two tornadoes were spotted, the National Weather Service said. Emergency management officials in Lamar County, Texas, also reported a brief tornado touchdown Wednesday evening.

Claiborne County’s emergency management office in Tennessee told USA TODAY a 22-year-old man died after a tree fell on his vehicle while he was driving around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Another person died and four others were injured in Maury County, Tennessee, after a tornado touched down. Three people suffered non-life-threatening wounds and one is in serious condition, according to the Maury County Regional Hospital.

One person in North Carolina died in the storm Wednesday after a tree fell on a car, according to Gaston County officials. Another person was rescued and transported to the hospital. The county declared a state of emergency Wednesday evening after hazardous weather caused severe damage to several communities and left nearly 45% of customers without power.

Several supercell thunderstorms were sweeping across south-central Kentucky and Middle Tennessee, the weather service said at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and storms were expected to continue into the evening with large hail, damaging winds and some tornadoes. Supercells are the least common type of thunderstorm and tend to produce hazardous weather.

Michigan tornadoes wreak havoc

Workers inside a FedEx facility in Michigan managed to escape unharmed after it partially collapsed as tornadoes ripped through Kalamazoo County, less than 60 miles south of Grand Rapids. Nearby, a tornado hit a mobile home community, injuring up to 20 people who were hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries. Around 176 properties were damaged, 17 of which were completely destroyed, said Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller in a video posted on Facebook.

“We found homes in the roadway, we found homes in neighbor’s homes,” said Fuller, urging residents to stay home as officials continue to search for people and survey the damage across the county.

In southern Ohio, officials were surveying damage after two suspected tornadoes destroyed homes, toppled trees and snapped utility poles. Storms flooded some local areas, and emergency response personnel conducted multiple rescues. Tornadoes were also reported in Arkansas, Indiana and West Virginia.

Tornadoes, hail, damaging wind forecast for parts of Central US

Nearly 20 million people from northeastern Texas to Missouri and Kentucky were at enhanced or moderate risk of severe storms on Wednesday, according to the Storm Predication Center. The powerful thunderstorms were expected to bring tornadoes, giant hail and damaging winds, with the highest risk throughout Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee, the prediction center said.

The cities facing potentially the worst impacts include Nashville, Memphis, St. Louis, Louisville and Little Rock, according to the weather service. A vast swath of the central and eastern U.S., from Texas to Georgia and up through New England was at slight risk of experiencing some of the poor weather.

As of 2 p.m., there were reports of overturned trees causing damage to some homes and other buildings in Tennessee, according to the weather service. In Grainger County, just outside Knoxville, officials reported many downed powerlines, and hail the size of tennis balls pelted Clarksville, Tennessee, as the Storm Prediction Center tracked hail storms across the Central U.S.

Damage from wind gusts were also reported in Kentucky and Missouri, where meteorologists picked up winds speeds of 67 mph. Several school districts in Tennessee either ended classes early or called off all after school activities, according to the Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Flooding from intense rainfall was reported in parts of Middle Tennessee, prompting some water rescues. The Red River near Port Royal Tennessee rose more than 20 feet Wednesday and is expected to crest at moderate flood stage at 38 feet. At least four other local streams in the region rose 6-8 feet in a matter of hours, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Through the day and into the evening, meteorologists anticipate multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms to slam the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee valleys. Across Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas, thunderstorms are forecast to develop by late afternoon. Along with the winds, rain and possible tornadoes, hail larger than 3 inches in diameter are a threat as the system shifts eastward through the evening.

Flood watches were in effect across Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri through Thursday, according to the weather service. Some local areas may get 2 to 5 inches of total rainfall.

‘The early warnings saved lives’

In St. Joseph County, just south of Kalamazoo, a tornado destroyed seven structures, mostly homes, Branch County Emergency Manager Tim Miner told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. There were no reports of serious injuries or deaths from the storms, which some credited to early prompt weather advisories.

“The early warnings saved lives,” said Ernie Ostuno, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Grand Rapids. “The warnings went out and people reacted to them.”

More than 101,000 homes and business in North Carolina were without power Wednesday evening, according to a USA TODAY database. About 40,000 utility customers in Tennessee also reported outages.

The looming storm system spun up at least eight tornadoes in Michigan; others were reported in Arkansas, Ohio and West Virginia, according to the National Weather Service. Powerful storms pummeled the Plains region on Monday, spinning up multiple tornadoes that killed at least one person in Oklahoma, flattened homes in multiple states and caused widespread power outages.

Tornado warning safety tips

While there’s no such thing as guaranteed safety, the weather service says there are things people can do to increase their chances of surviving a deadly tornado:

∎ Protect yourself from flying or falling debris, the single biggest life-threatening hazard.

∎ Seek shelter in the closest, safest interior or underground room.

∎ Always avoid windows. Don’t go to the windows or doors to look outside.

∎ Cover yourself with thick protective coverings, such as a mattress, sleeping bags and thick blankets or other protective coverings.

∎ Wear a helmet, if you have one, to protect your head from debris.

National weather radar

Contributing: Kylie Martin, Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press; Cheryl Vari, Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer; Kirsten Fiscus, Diana Leyva, Andy Humbles, Tennessean

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Powerful storms kill 3 people as tornadoes, hailstorms sweep across Central US