Tornadoes, flooding rain and snow wreaked havoc across multiple states Tuesday, in a storm system that has already killed at least two people, destroyed buildings, uprooted trees and downed power lines.
As many as 27 million people are under risk of severe storms Wednesday as the destructive storm system moves east and is forecast to bring heavy rain, floods, high winds and severe winter weather from Maine to Florida.
In the past 24 hours, there have been 12 reports of tornadoes across six states — Alabama, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia and Kentucky. Multiple EF-1 tornadoes were confirmed in Jessamine, Anderson, Bourbon, and Nelson counties in Kentucky, as well as in Prospect across Jefferson and Oldham counties, with 95 mph to 110 mph winds.
Many in the wind-battered states are waking up to the severe damage: homes stripped down to their metal bones, roofs ripped off buildings and power lines torn down.
This storm system, which started its deluge in the west over the weekend, has been making its way across the country.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a 46-year-old homeless woman sheltering in a drainage pipe died, according to the Tulsa Fire Department. The woman’s boyfriend told officials that they had gone to sleep at the entrance of the pipe when they were startled awake by floodwaters Monday evening, The Associated Press reported.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear had declared a state of emergency Tuesday because of the storms that started to hammer the state Monday and deployed Kentucky State Police and emergency managers to affected areas to assist locals in need.
Kentucky officials on Wednesday afternoon announced a weather-related fatality in Campbell County following a two-vehicle incident. The Campbell County Coroner did not release the name of the victim, but confirmed it was a 19-year-old male.
Over 20 counties have reported damage from the severe weather in the state.
In Nelson County, Kentucky fire officials shared photos of severe storm damage while responding to a gas leak: mangled metal and collapsed buildings.
Another likely tornado touched down in Conyers, Georgia, uprooting trees and damaging homes. The suspected tornado caused “some minor injuries associated with trees, tree down calls” and power outages, Meredith Barnum, deputy director of the Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency, told NBC News.