A powerful storm system swept across the East Coast on Wednesday, killing four people in Virginia and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the region.
Forecasters had warned that more than 88 million people were at risk of seeing some sort of severe weather Wednesday. In the Midwest, heavy snow and biting winds led to mass flight cancellations at Chicago airports and school closings in several states.
Roads leading into the town had to be closed because of downed trees and debris tossed by winds gusting to 60 mph, Geller said. A 7:30 p.m. curfew was imposed so search and rescue teams could go door to door checking on people.
Timothy Williams said a friend had just come by to take his new car for a drive when the storm hit.
The storm blew down electrical wires “in a big ball of fire, thrashing all about each other,” Williams said. He said they both escaped shaken but uninjured.
“I’m just a little nervous and jittery, but overall I’m OK,” Williams said.
At least 15 structures were destroyed and 25 injuries were reported when the storm passed through Essex County and the town of Tappahannock, about 45 miles northeast of Richmond, state police said. The injuries ranged from minor to serious, but were no confirmed fatalities.
On Tuesday, one of the hardest-hit areas along the Gulf Coast was a recreational vehicle park in the town of Convent, in southern Louisiana. RVs were tossed about and lay on top of wrecked cars and pickup trucks.
An all-night search of the RV park found no additional injuries or fatalities, the sheriff said. One person was still unaccounted for.
“The whole front end came up and slammed back down, and I grabbed up the baby and the next thing I know we just went rolling end over end,” Lott said.
The storms dumped several inches of rain in Alabama, Georgia and elsewhere, causing flash flood watches. Schools were closed in parts of Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas ahead of the storms.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said an apparent tornado in the Pensacola area significantly damaged more than 70 homes and 24 apartments, leaving three people with minor injuries.
Residents in LaPlace, Louisiana, were cleaning up Wednesday after a tornado ripped up trees, tore roofs from houses and terrified local residents. Nearly 200 homes were damaged.
“The whole backyard is covered with trees, and then my shed is torn up, too. The roof is gone, and the siding is partially gone,” she said. Still, she said others suffered damage even worse than hers: “I lucked out. I lucked out.”
source: WTOP.com