Wednesday’s deadly weather comes after a series of deadly and powerful tornadoes struck the Midwest on Monday and Tuesday.
Severe storms tore through the central and southeast U.S. late Tuesday and Wednesday, spawning damaging tornadoes, producing massive hail, and killing two people in Tennessee and another in North Carolina.
The storm that rumbled across northeastern Tennessee brought high winds that knocked down powerlines and trees. Claiborne County Sheriff Bob Brooks said a 22-year-old man was in a car struck by one of the trees. Claiborne County Mayor Joe Brooks also confirmed the death in a social media post.
Wednesday afternoon, a tornado emergency — the National Weather Service’s highest alert level — was issued for an area south of Nashville including the towns of Spring Hill, Chapel Hill and Eagleville.
A tornado warning had previously been issued in nearby Columbia, about 45 miles south of Nashville.
Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder confirmed in a statement at least one person died because of the storm, but no details on the cause of death were immediately provided.
Molder said there was a „number of sightings of confirmed tornado touch-downs“ in the area that resulted in „bodily injuries and property damage.“
The Maury County Office of Emergency Management in a statement urged „everyone to stay out of the areas hit“ by the storm, adding that all schools in the county would be closed Thursday.
In North Carolina, a state of emergency was declared for Gaston County Wednesday evening following a large storm. First responders were working to clear roads of downed power lines and broken trees and were helping residents, officials said. The New Hope Fire Department responded to a tree down on a car. One person in the car was killed and another was taken to a hospital, officials said.
More than 152,000 customers were without power in North Carolina and Tennessee Wednesday night, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.
Tornadoes Tuesday in parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, according to the National Weather Service.
