The storm system, already responsible for at least one death in Mississippi, demolished buildings and flooded streets in the New Orleans area on Wednesday. It continued to cause flash flood and tornado warnings in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Thursday.
Twelve thousand subscribers were without power Thursday afternoon, both in North Carolina and Georgia, according to the poweroutage.us website. There were also 18,000 customers in the dark in Florida, 31,000 in Mississippi and almost 60,000 in Louisiana.
Meteorologists warned Thursday that parts of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia will be in the crosshairs. According to the latest forecasts from the Storm Prediction Center, these regions could be hit by tornadoes, damaging winds and large hailstones.
At least a dozen West Virginia counties closed public schools early Thursday due to the approaching storms. Southern West Virginia was hit by nine tornadoes on April 2. This is a single-day record for the state and more than quadruple the number of tornadoes recorded in an average year.
In Augusta, Georgia, the start of the Masters golf tournament has been delayed, tournament officials announced. Forecasters are predicting wind gusts approaching 75 kilometers/hour.
“These wind speeds could easily bring down branches here and there,” warned Brad Carlberg, forecaster at the National Weather Service. Be aware of weather conditions and gusts, especially if you are near trees, as a branch can fall at any time.”
Torrential rains made roads impassable in Valdosta, Georgia, an emergency official reported. In Tallahassee, Florida, storms toppled trees and caused significant street flooding, the weather service said.
(to be continued)
