Severe weather now targeting much of the East with heavy rain, possible tornadoes
Most of the eastern U.S. faced threats of severe weather Thursday evening as a deadly storm system that inflicted immense damage across the Gulf Coast headed north, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and possible tornadoes to the Southeast, mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions.
One area of particular concern later Thursday was in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania and western West Virginia. "Severe thunderstorms with a few tornadoes, scattered damaging winds, and isolated severe hail are possible across the upper Ohio River Valley and parts of the Appalachians this afternoon into tonight," the Storm Prediction Center said Thursday afternoon. A tornado watch was issued until 11 p.m. ET for some locations in North Carolina, including Charlotte, and southern Virginia.
Tornado advisories also remained across a large swath of the Florida Peninsula and southern Georgia, while millions of people from Indiana to Pennsylvania were under flash flood warnings, according to the National Weather Service.
In St. Augustine, Florida, an apparent tornado caused damage at the World Gulf Village, according to the Florida Times-Union, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Forecasts delayed the first round of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, as meteorologists and tournament officials warned of thunderstorms and strong wind gusts. Farther north, the Weather Prediction Center said flash flooding may occur in several metro areas including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
More than 125,000 utility customers were without power Thursday afternoon from Louisiana to North Carolina, according to a USA TODAY database. Airports spanning much of the eastern U.S., including those in states such as Florida, New York and Massachusetts, were reporting significant delays.
The most travel holdups occurred in Orlando, where over 250 flights were delayed and 33 were canceled, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.
Tornadoes and damaging winds remained among forecasters' top concerns for the day after at least three twisters were confirmed in southern Louisiana on Wednesday. Gulf Coast residents and authorities alike were still assessing the damage after a series of powerful storms destroyed homes, uprooted trees and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
Meteorologists anticipate heavy rain and high winds to continue lashing the Great Lakes and Northeast regions Friday and Saturday, the weather service said.
Tornadoes, flooding cause widespread damage across Gulf Coast
The system unleashed a barrage of severe weather conditions across the Gulf Coast on Wednesday, leading to mass power outages, travel disruptions, widespread damage and flooding in New Orleans.
Ten inches of rainfall was recorded in southeastern Texas and Louisiana, the weather service said. In Mississippi, more than 8 inches fell in the central city of Europa. Parts of Georgia, Florida and Alabama had 3-5 inches of rainfall.
In Pensacola, Florida, strong winds uprooted a massive tree and toppled it onto Robert Havens' mobile home. Just before the tree crushed the center of the trailer, Havens was able to lead his roommate, Robert Johnson, into the bathroom where they both sheltered.
"I heard like a 'snap' or 'crack' or something and I jumped up, and I walked over and I grabbed him by the arm and I said, 'Get back to here!' So, we ran straight back to the bathroom ... and right when we got in there, that's when the tree fell," Havens told the Pensacola News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. "We just thought the whole thing is going to fall in on us, but thank God it didn't."
The National Weather Service said it confirmed Thursday that two EF-1 tornadoes caused damage in two locations during a tornado-warned storm for central Escambia and Santa Rosa counties on Wednesday afternoon.
A preliminary report from weather service survey teams said an EF-1 tornado with winds reaching 110 mph struck the Bellview area, and another EF-1 with winds of 105 mph hit the Pace area.
Two confirmed tornadoes ripped through Slidell, a town 30 miles northeast of New Orleans, and the southwestern city of Lake Charles, where the twister had top wind speeds of 115 mph. Another tornado was confirmed in Saint Francisville, a town about 31 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, according to the weather service survey crews. Damage in Saint Francisville and Slidell were consistent with at least an EF-1 tornado, which can fuel winds of 86-110 mph, the weather service said.
One person died in in Mississippi because of the storms, according to state's emergency management agency. The 64-year-old woman's oxygen machine stopped working after losing power in Scott County, Weather.com reported.
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Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY; Brittany Misencik, Edward Bunch III, Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deadly storm system brings more flood, tornado concerns to eastern US
