Severe weather hits Southeast with heavy rain, strong winds; tornado reported in Georgia

A slew of hulking storms unleashed severe weather conditions across the Southeast on Thursday after deadly systems earlier killed three people and caused widespread damage in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Strong wind gusts toppled trees and snapped utility poles throughout Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Around 1:45 p.m., local time, a confirmed tornado was located near the central Georgia city of Alston, moving east at 55 mph.

Debris surrounds a tornado damaged home along Kedron Road Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Columbia, Tenn. Severe weather and tornadoes caused damage in Tennessee on Wednesday.

Overall, there were two reports of tornadoes in Georgia on Thursday, the Storm Prediction Center said.

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Threats from tornadoes and hail

A tornado watch remained in effect for much of southern Georgia and northeastern Florida as of late afternoon. This included the entire Jacksonville (Fla.) metro area.

To the west, in the Dallas, Texas, area, residents were bracing for an onslaught of large hail that was predicted to pound the region Thursday evening. Hail of up to 3.5 inches in diameter was possible, the weather service said.

More than 74,000 households and businesses remained without power on Thursday afternoon across parts of Tennessee and North Carolina, according to a USA TODAY outage tracker. Other states also reported high outage totals, including Alabama with 10,000 outages, Georgia with 50,000 and South Carolina with 18,000.

In Tennessee, where nearly 8 inches of rain fell since Wednesday, flood advisories were in effect.

The Federal Aviation Administration warned travelers to anticipate delays at airports in Atlanta, Charlotte and as far north as Boston and Washington D.C., “due to weather constraints.” School districts throughout the Southeast canceled classes for the day and called off after-school activities.

Storms tear through Tennessee, North Carolina; at least 3 dead

A slate of storms barreled through the central and eastern U.S. on Wednesday, triggering tornadoes and large hail and inflicting widespread damage, especially across Tennessee and North Carolina where at least three people were killed.

In northeastern Tennessee, a 22-year-old man died after a tree fell on his vehicle around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said. In Maury County, about 50 miles southeast of Nashville, a tornado left one person dead and injured four others.

Nashville International Airport was temporality under a ground stop. Meanwhile, officials conducted rescues through the night as people were trapped in floodwaters. By early Thursday, 7 inches inches of rain had fallen in some parts of the state. At least five local streams rose 6 to 8 feet in a matter of hours, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

In North Carolina, one person 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.

Ferocious storms barreled through northern Alabama late Wednesday, leaving untold paths of damage as persistent storms delayed the start of surveys by National Weather Service teams. In Missouri, tennis-ball size hail fell in Pettis County, some 90 miles east of Kansas City.

Tennessee prayer vigil draws 500 after storm injures 10-year-old boy

About 500 people gathered in a Tennessee parking lot Thursday to show their support for 10-year-old Asher Sullivan after he was gravely injured in the brutal storm.

Rutherford County Schools Director James “Jimmy” Sullivan said his son was playing in the water that had gathered in the streets as neighbors began the cleanup process when he got caught in a storm drain on Wednesday. Asher was swept under the street and eventually came out in a drainage ditch. His heartbeat returned after receiving CPR. But he suffered severe injuries, his father said, including severely damaged lungs and minimal brain activity.

“Asher needs a miracle,” Sullivan said.

Christiana Middle School English teacher Tyler Frost came to the vigil with his 3-year-old daughter, Layne, and 5-year-old son, Keith.

“We just wanted to support Christiana Elementary because that is where Asher goes,” Frost said. “The Sullivans are a big part of the Christiana community.”

Days of severe weather have left large trail of destruction

Powerful storms have walloped large swaths of the central U.S. since Monday, causing at least four deaths, dozens of injuries and sweeping rescue and cleanup efforts.

Tornadoes damaged hundreds of buildings in Michigan and Ohio on Tuesday night, including a FedEx facility that partially collapsed while workers were huddled inside. Each of the employees managed to escape unharmed. A mobile home park in southern Michigan’s Kalamazoo County was shredded by a tornado, hospitalizing 20 people and flattening over a dozen homes, according to local officials.

On Monday, strong storms battered the Plains region, spinning up multiple tornadoes that killed at least one person in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, about 40 miles north of Tulsa. At least seven people were injured in the area and around 30 to 40 homes were damaged, according to the state’s Department of Emergency Management.

How to be safe during a tornado warning

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.

US weather watches and warnings

National weather radar

Contributing: Doyle Rice, Dinah Voyles Pulver and Minnah Arshad; Scott Broden, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Severe weather hits Southeast with heavy rain, strong winds; tornado reported in Georgia