- Severe weather across the Midwest, Great Plains and Appalachia left at least one person dead and thousands without power Tuesday.
- Three suspected tornadoes were reported in northern Oklahoma, and more than a foot of snow is expected to fall in Wisconsin.
- Meanwhile, about 140,000 customers remained without power in West Virginia as of Tuesday afternoon, about 14% of the state tracked by poweroutage.us.
Severe weather battered several states Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses, killing at least one person and potentially spawning tornadoes.
About 140,000 West Virginia customers were without power as of Tuesday afternoon, about 14% of all customers in the state tracked by poweroutage.us. Meanwhile, a spring snowstorm was expected to dump more than a foot of snow in Wisconsin.
One of the worst-hit areas was northeastern Oklahoma, where a strong weather system containing heavy rain spawned what appeared to be three tornadoes. Police said the storm was also responsible for the death of a 46-year-old homeless woman in Tulsa who was found dead in a drainpipe.
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Tulsa Fire Department spokesman Andy Little said the woman’s boyfriend told authorities that the two had fallen asleep at the entrance to a drain and were awakened by flooding. National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Darby said up to 1.5 inches of rain fell in Tulsa in about an hour before moving northeast into the state.
“There wasn’t a lot, but when it came down it was pretty rapid,” Darby said.
Firefighters in Ohio rescued two people trapped under a bridge as the Ohio River began to rise early Tuesday morning, and forecasters warned more severe weather was expected for the region. .
According to a report from the Columbus Fire Department, the two men were sleeping under a bridge around 8:45 a.m. when the Scioto River began to rise. Although they did not go directly into the water, they were unable to return to shore due to flooding, and a fire department boat was dispatched to rescue them.
No injuries were reported.
Mindy Broughton, 49, of southern Ohio, rushed into her mobile home Tuesday morning as hail and winds picked up at the RV park where she has lived for two years near Hanging Rock.
Broughton and his fiancée crouched down as the mobile home immediately began to shake. Broughton said her fiance put his body on the line to protect her as the wind was howling outside.
“I said I could die today,” she said.
In just a few seconds the wind died down. When Broughton opened the door to the mobile home, he saw the devastation left behind. The RV park was littered with debris and overturned RVs. Fortunately, Broughton said there was no one inside the flipped mobile home, which could be seen on Facebook Live video.
One of the neighbors told Broughton that he saw a funnel cloud. The National Weather Service in Charleston, West Virginia, issued a tornado warning for the Mid-Ohio Valley Tuesday morning.
After Tuesday’s storm, Broughton headed to the nearby American Legion building. She said she would not stay there in case the weather deteriorated.
Trees cover roads as severe storms hit Cross Lanes, West Virginia, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/John Lavie)
Severe storms pounded southwestern Indiana Tuesday morning, knocking down trees and knocking out power, causing several local school districts to cancel classes for the day. More than 18,000 homes and businesses were without power just before noon Tuesday, including in Vanderburgh County, where Evansville, Indiana’s third-largest city, is located.
Wisconsin residents are bracing for a spring snowstorm, with forecasters warning that more than a foot of snow could fall in the eastern part of the state, including the Green Bay area. The state’s top elections official, Megan Wolf, told residents planning to vote in Tuesday’s presidential primary to consider voting earlier in the day, depending on local expectations, to avoid travel difficulties. I called out.
Snowfall totals could range from 4 to 8 inches in central Wisconsin and 8 to 14 inches in eastern Wisconsin, with wind gusts of 30 to 80 mph and very limited visibility, according to the National Weather Service. At best, travel will be difficult. Scott Cultis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Green Bay office, said the storm will bring “very heavy, wet snow” to central and eastern Wisconsin, which is not unusual for early April in the state. said.
“Just three weeks ago, we were in the 70s, so people thought spring was just around the corner, and now we’re in April and we’re having a big snowstorm,” Cultis said. Told. “As people say, ‘This is spring in Wisconsin.'”
In West Virginia, a storm blew off part of the roof of a vacant building in downtown Charleston Tuesday afternoon, littering the street with bricks and closing a road to traffic. Trees were uprooted and torn from the ground, lying on roads, lawns and, in some cases, cars.
Gov. Jim Justice said his team is monitoring damage across the state.
“We are aware that there are power lines, trees and debris on the roads. We urge everyone to proceed with caution,” he said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency after severe storms hit the state Tuesday morning and more storms were expected later in the day. The storm brought tornado warnings, heavy rain and winds, hail and lightning.
“Significant damage has been reported to numerous structures, but thankfully there are no fatalities at this time,” Beshear said in a statement. “All Kentuckians should remain weather aware as we prepare for more severe weather this afternoon and evening.”
All state executive offices were closed Tuesday afternoon due to pending weather conditions. Some universities in the state also canceled in-person classes Tuesday afternoon and evening due to the inclement weather.
Forecasters have issued a tornado watch for parts of northeast Mississippi, northern Alabama, middle Tennessee and western Tennessee until 9 p.m. CT.
A power company in Memphis, Tennessee, reported that about 40,000 homes and businesses were without power Tuesday morning after its substation was struck by lightning, which subsequently affected two other substations. Memphis Light, Gas and Water announced that power to the substation was restored by 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. The company reported about 1,900 power outages Tuesday afternoon.
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The storm is expected to move into New England Wednesday night into Thursday, dumping 12 to 18 inches of snow in parts of New Hampshire and Maine, and less in other areas, the National Weather Service said. announced. The agency said wind gusts could reach 80 mph in some places and power outages were possible.
