Severe Storms and Tornadoes Ravage Central United States, Resulting in 4 Deaths

On Wednesday evening, severe storms and tornadoes began to hit various states in the central United States, with Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee being particularly hard hit. The storms moved from west to east, damaging numerous homes and vehicles. At least four people lost their lives in the storm, with three in Tennessee and one in Missouri.

In Selmer, Tennessee, a tornado struck the city on Wednesday night, destroying some cars and tearing off roofs of some homes. Debris and rubble littered the streets. One family narrowly escaped as their house collapsed, with the homeowner expressing disbelief at their fortunate escape amidst falling debris.

By Thursday morning, more than 3.6 million people in northern Tennessee and Mississippi received flash flood warnings. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Little Rock, Arkansas, forecasted, “Widespread, rare, and at times even catastrophic flash flooding could occur… floodwaters might reach areas rarely or never inundated before.”

Prior to this, the National Weather Service in Memphis, Tennessee had issued storm warnings on Wednesday, describing the event as “a rare, significant, and potentially destructive event.”

Rain began on Wednesday and is expected to persist for four days. The NWS predicts that the rainfall could lead to “catastrophic flooding”. Some of the heaviest rainfall is expected to occur overnight, making the flooding more dangerous as it is nearly impossible to gauge the severity of the flooding in the darkness.

Although the storm has diminished in intensity from Wednesday night, the threat is far from over. According to the Storm Prediction Center, there will be a level 3 out of 5 severe thunderstorm risk from northeast Texas to western Tennessee, with a level 2 risk spanning approximately 1,500 miles across the United States.

These areas are likely to experience several stronger thunderstorms throughout Thursday, increasing the chances of severe storms with tornadoes, starting late Thursday afternoon or evening.

(Adapted from CNN’s report)