Tornadoes tore through the central and southern United States on Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Homes and businesses were flattened, power lines were downed, and trees were uprooted as violent storms swept across multiple states.
The National Weather Service (NWS) reported at least 15 tornado sightings across four states by late Wednesday. Communities in Kentucky and Arkansas were particularly hard hit, with eight people injured, including one critically in Kentucky’s Ballard County, according to local officials.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency across the state due to the severe weather, which also brought hail and torrential rain. “The word for tonight is ‘chaotic,'” said NWS meteorologist Scott Kleebauer. “This is a large expanse of storms migrating slowly to the east, stretching from southeast Michigan down into southeastern Arkansas.”
In Nevada, Missouri, a tornado caused major damage. The state’s Emergency Management Agency shared on social media that several businesses sustained significant damage, power poles were snapped, and several empty train cars were flipped onto their sides by the powerful storm.
The NWS issued tornado and flash flood warnings for parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. Millions of people remained under alerts as the agency warned that dangers would continue into early Thursday.
Forecasters predict that these violent storms are just the beginning of a multi-day catastrophic and potentially historic heavy rainfall event. The coming days could bring what the NWS is calling a “generational flood event” to Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi, with some areas expected to receive up to 38 centimeters of rain by the weekend. This could cause rivers to overflow, leading to catastrophic river flooding.
PowerOutage.us reported that more than 400,000 customers experienced power outages across the storm-hit regions. As communities brace for the continuation of these severe weather conditions, officials are urging residents to stay informed and take necessary precautions.
