A significant storm system caused damage through large portions of the US over the weekend, moving through the South before bringing damaging winds and even tornadoes to the eastern Great Lakes and mid-Atlantic regions.
So far, eight deaths have been linked to the storms. The National Weather Service confirmed that at least 18 tornadoes caused damage in southern states, including Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi.
In addition to downed trees, power lines, and extensive building damage, power outages continue to affect homes and businesses. As of 11:45 EDT Monday, almost 50,000 homes and businesses were without power in Pennsylvania according to poweroutage.us. There are 30,000 in Virginia without power, and 15,000 and 10,000 in New Jersey and Ohio, respectively. A little over 8,000 people in North Carolina are still affected.
Of the deaths linked to the storms, four people were killed in Texas, one person in Mississippi, one in Alabama, and three people in Louisiana. Those who were killed range from 3-years-old to 95-years-old. Countless people were also injured in the storms.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Charles County saw wind gusts of 60 mph early Sunday morning. The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, built in 1834, was severely damaged and was forced to cancel Palm Sunday services.
Are we in for more severe weather this week? The same areas hit by this weekend’s storm are at risk of being hit by damaging storms again this week. The storms are forecast to begin Wednesday, threatening eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of the upper Midwest with strong winds, hail and flash flooding.
The storms will move through the Deep South Thursday before moving into the East Coast on Friday, again bringing threats of damaging winds, hail, local flooding and tornadoes.
