Four dead in Nashville as storms and record rainfall continue to batter southern United States
- ‘The rainfall we got yesterday and overnight made this one of the wettest 24-hour periods in Nashville’s history,’ said National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Shamburger
- Storms were moving north on Sunday, with North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana among likely targets
At least four people were killed and swift-water rescue crews plucked more than 130 people from cars, flats and homes as devastating storms continued to hammer the southern United States.
An overnight deluge pounded parts of Tennessee with nine inches of rain. Nashville International Airport had recorded seven inches as of 5am on Sunday.
“The rainfall we got yesterday and overnight made this one of the wettest 24-hour periods in Nashville’s history,” National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Shamburger said.
Storms were marching northward Sunday, and North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana among likely targets, rolling as far north as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, forecasters said. Gusting winds and possibly tornadoes, hail and flooding were possible, AccuWeather said.
“There is a lot of wind energy for storms to tap into,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said. “It won’t take much to get wind gusts to 70mph or perhaps more with the strongest storms.”
Multiple tornadoes touched down in Alabama last week, the second line of severe storms to slam that state in two weeks. Mississippi and Tennessee also were hard hit by the wild, dangerous spring weather.
