Firefighters with the Anchorage Middletown Fire Department check houses for gas leaks following severe storms that passed through Prospect, Kentucky, April 2, 2024. (Timothy D. Easley / AP via CNN Newsource)
(CNN) — Homes and businesses were damaged, several people were injured and tens of thousands remained in the dark Wednesday after a powerful storm system spawned tornadoes and damaging storms from the South to the Ohio Valley, and blizzard conditions and snow in the Great Lakes.
Severe storms injured at least 10 people in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just north of Louisville, the town’s mayor told CNN affiliate WLKY. Photos posted by the mayor showed chunks taken out of several homes’ roofs and debris strewn about an area neighborhood.
Severe thunderstorms brought “flooding, downed trees, power outages, and road blockages” across West Virginia, according to Gov. Jim Justice, who declared a state of emergency Tuesday for Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln and Nicholas counties.
At least 13 homes were damaged and some residents were injured, Fayette County, West Virginia, Office of Emergency Management director Kevin Walker told CNN. The injuries were non-life threatening, Walker said.
“Some are destroyed, and some have major damage,” Walker said.
Sixteen tornadoes were reported Tuesday and Wednesday morning across Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia, along with dozens of damaging wind reports, including gusts topping 100 mph in Kentucky.
The Illinois tornado was reported by a trained weather spotter Tuesday near Manteno in Kankakee County, according to the National Weather Service.
A tornado ripped through Conyers, Georgia, just southeast of Atlanta early Wednesday morning, downing power lines and causing damage there, according to CNN affiliate WXIA. The storm sent a tree smashing through a teen’s car and into his lap. The teen was rescued and taken to a hospital, WXIA reported.
An Ohio elementary school was left in shambles in Proctorville after a tornado-warned storm moved through the area. Luckily, students at Fairland West Elementary were on spring break, but the school will remained closed for now, school district officials told CNN.
More than 100,000 utility customers in West Virginia remained in the dark Wednesday morning after powerful winds with gusts topping 90 mph blasted through the state Tuesday, according to poweroutage.us.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a statewide state of emergency Tuesday as the Lexington area saw “significant damage” from the storms.
In Tennessee, a funeral home and some homes in the town of Sunbright suffered damage from the storm system after it brought two tornadoes to the state on Tuesday, according to Matthew Brown, Director of Morgan County E-911.
Structural damage was also reported throughout Barnsdall, Oklahoma, according to Barnsdall Police, after four tornadoes swept through the state on Monday. Homes were damaged, garages were destroyed and roofs came off some of the houses, Officer Eric Sofian told CNN.
“I was on duty and patrolling the streets when it came through,” he said. “There was a lot of heavy wind, a lot of lightning and I could see a lot of sparks flying from the power lines.”
Three more tornadoes hit Missouri on Monday, per the Storm Prediction Center.
In southern Indiana, multiple vehicles were flipped over “due to high winds or (a) possible tornado” on Interstate 265, Indiana State Police in Sellersburg said, adding minor injuries were reported.
Storms will continue to bring the threat of twisters, strong winds and large hail, this time to parts of the Southeast and East Coast from Florida to the mid-Atlantic. Over 30 million people are under a threat of some level of severe weather Wednesday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Long-Lasting Snowstorm and Strong Winds
A long-duration winter storm will produce significant snow and gusty winds across the Great Lakes and Northeast, the National Weather Service says. Nearly 12 million people — mainly across northern New England — are under winter weather alerts, according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy, wet snow will persist across Wisconsin and upper Michigan into Thursday. As much as two feet of snow is expected to fall in parts of northern Wisconsin and upper Michigan, prompting a blizzard warning due to the combination of strong winds and heavy snow.
The conditions knocked out power to more than 100,000 customers in the two states as of Wednesday morning, according to poweroutage.us.
Heavy snow and some sleet will move into northern New York, most of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine later Wednesday afternoon. Snow accumulations of 6 to 14 inches are possible, with sleet accumulations of up to an inch. Significant snow accumulations over 12 inches are likely over northern New York and central New England, according to the weather service.
Some impacts to travel and power outages are expected due to the combination of heavy snow and gusty winds. Whiteout conditions and snow-covered roads could result in hazardous travel conditions in the regions, while the heavy, wet snow and strong wind gusts could cause power outages and downed trees.
Moderate coastal flooding could happen in portions of the Northeast coast late Wednesday through Thursday, the weather service says. That could result in widespread roadway flooding, coastal and bayside flooding, impassable roads and damage to vulnerable structures.
“A strong storm will bring impacts to the area through Thursday,” the National Weather Service in New York said. “Strong to damaging winds, heavy rain, and widespread minor to moderate coastal flooding during times of high tide later Wednesday and early Thursday.”
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