A lightning strike on April 2 in Ashland City, Tenn. Photo:
AP Photo/George Walker IV
At least six people have died as dangerous weather conditions — including tornadoes and severe flooding – continue to wreak havoc across a large part of the U.S., according to reports.
As of Thursday, April 3, five people have died in Tennessee and one person died in Missouri, according to CNN.
The deaths are a result of severe storm systems, including dozens of tornadoes that have ripped across the central U.S. on Wednesday and through the night, USA Today reported. One woman was trapped inside a warehouse after a suspected tornado touched down in Brownsburg, Indiana, before she was rescued, according to the outlet.
A family in Selmer, Tenn. recalled what it was like for their home to collapse around them on Wednesday night after a tornado hit.
“We got in the hallway, and everything came down,” Paul Floyd told Fox affiliate WHBQ. The tornadoes have the potential to continue in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, with severe storms possible on Saturday, according to CNN.
A downed tree knocked out power lines in Memphis on April 2. AP Photo/Adrian Sainz
Across multiple states, images show destroyed buildings, tree damage and destroyed vehicles.
Even as families navigate the destruction, hundreds of thousands of people across the country are without power, according to NBC News. And the dangerous weather isn’t ending anytime soon.
On Thursday, the National Weather Service warned that “a life-threatening, catastrophic, and potentially historic flash flood event” will continue across the Lower Ohio Valley and Mid-South.
The hazardous amount of rain is the result of an atmospheric river, according to USA Today.
A tornado destroyed a roof in Jeffersontown, Ky. on April 3. AP Photo/Jon Cherry
“This moisture plume, known as an atmospheric river, will be tropical in nature and originate from the Caribbean,” AccuWeather meteorologist William Clark said, per the outlet. “Tropical moisture raises the risk of excessive rainfall.”
Clark explained that with so many storms forecasted to hit over the next four to five days, it will feel like three or four tropical storms affecting the same region, sending a deluge of rain, according to USA Today.
For Floyd, the past couple of days have forever altered the lives of his family and neighbors. He told WHBQ that he and his family spent the night at a local shelter.
“We just left with the shirts on our back,” he told the outlet.
