- Millions are at risk from powerful storms bringing hail, damaging winds, flooding, and potential tornadoes.
- The storms, fueled by an atmospheric river, have caused tornadoes, flooding, and destruction in multiple states.
- Catastrophic and potentially historic rainfall is expected, with some areas receiving up to 15 inches of rain.
Rounds of thunderstorms further inundated communities across the central U.S. on Friday as hard-hit areas were still reeling from an outbreak of severe weather and tornadoes that ravaged neighborhoods and killed at least seven people.
More than three millions people from Texas to Illinois were at an enhanced risk of powerful storms threatening large hail, damaging winds, flooding rain and possible tornadoes, especially across western Arkansas into southeast Missouri, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
The storms, fueled by a stagnant atmospheric river, unleashed tornadoes Wednesday night and Thursday from Arkansas to Illinois, flattening homes, destroying businesses and overturning semi-trucks. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in a Thursday evening news conference that swaths of the town of Selmer were “completely wiped out.”
As the rain picked up Thursday, rural areas and major cities became submerged in floodwaters. Emergency water rescues were reported in Nashville and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has said dozens of highways were blocked by the rising water. Forecasters said more rounds of storms are on the way and could have cataclysmic impacts.
“As has been said repeatedly for the last several days, this has the makings of a catastrophic, potentially historic heavy rainfall and flash flood event, with some locations potentially seeing rainfall amounts as high as 10-15″+ through the weekend,” the National Weather Service said.
Landslide blocks highway in Kentucky
In northern Kentucky, a landslide blocked all lanes of the Mary Ingles Highway, officials said Friday.
The landslide was reported just before 3 a.m. Campbell County dispatchers did not give a timeline for when the highway will be cleared, but said it is expected to be closed “for a while.”
The Mary Ingles Highway reopened less than a year ago after a 2019 landslide shut down a portion of it. The highway was closed until July 2024 for a $9.1 million maintenance and repair project to stabilize the area.
At least four inches of rain has fallen so far in northern Kentucky and that could double by Sunday, forecasters said.
Schools close for another day
The severe weather on Friday impacted the schedule of hundreds of students across Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.
In each of these states, school districts switched to remote learning, delayed the start of class or closed schools all together, citing dangerous travel conditions and power outages.
In many areas, this was the second or third day of class interruptions.
Power outages
Tens of thousands were without power Friday as storms continued to wallop the middle of the country.
In Michigan, where crews have struggled to restore power since the state was hit with disastrous storms last weekend, about 77,944 homes and businesses were without power Friday, according to PowerOutage.us.
Other states with climbing outage numbers include Indiana, 17,151; Pennsylvania, 15,861; Kentucky, 11,062; Arkansas, 10,940. With the persistent weather threat expected to last through Saturday, officials have warned of delays to power restoration efforts.
Severe thunderstorm warnings, flood watches
