Nashville, Tennessee – Severe weather, including tornadoes, continues to wreak havoc in the South, with the death toll rising as the storms move across the region. The threat of severe weather has persisted since Monday, causing widespread destruction and prompting flash flood emergencies in various states.
The toll from this multi-day outbreak has reached at least four deaths, with fatalities reported in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. The storms have unleashed devastating tornadoes and other dangerous weather conditions, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Supercells, a type of storm known for their spinning updrafts called mesocyclones, have been responsible for spawning tornadoes, giant hail, and strong winds in the Plains, Midwest, and South since Monday. These powerful storms can endure for hours, making them particularly dangerous during severe weather outbreaks.
As the severe weather system continues to move southward, states like South Carolina are bracing for flooding as the National Weather Service issues flood advisories and flash flood warnings. The areas most at risk for flash flooding are identified as south of U.S. Highway 74 and west of Interstate 77, although flooding could occur elsewhere as well.
Meteorologists are closely monitoring a complex of strong to severe storms sweeping through northern Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, with the potential for damaging wind gusts, heavy rainfall, and isolated tornadoes. Later in the day, the focus shifts to the threat of damaging hail in parts of Texas, while a long-lived damaging wind event is forecasted for the South, extending into early Friday.
Reports of over 200,000 homes and businesses without power have emerged, with the largest number of outages recorded in North Carolina. The state faced a major storm that uprooted trees and knocked out power lines, underscoring the destructive impact of the severe weather system.
The storm outbreak, which began in the Plains on Monday and has since swept across the country, has generated over 900 reports of severe weather, including tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds. The continuous onslaught of severe weather underscores the urgent need for preparedness and response measures to mitigate the impact of these destructive storms.