Severe weather – including a possible tornado in the Atlanta area – continued to roar across the storm-battered South on Monday, a day after multiple twisters were reported in Mississippi.
In all, more than 100 million people from New Mexico to Delaware were at risk of some form of severe weather Monday afternoon and evening, the Storm Prediction Center said.
More severe storms were expected across the Southeast on Tuesday, forecasters warned. States at greatest risk included much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, the Prediction Center said.
Storm hazards Tuesday will include hail, flooding downpours, tornadoes and damaging, straight-line wind gusts of up to 75 mph, according to AccuWeather.
Monday morning, a tornado warning had been issued for portions of the Atlanta metro area, but it expired after the storm moved through the region.
One man was killed Monday in Douglasville, Georgia, when a falling tree brought power lines down onto his vehicle. There were reports of trees down across the Atlanta area, firefighters said.
A tornado watch remained in effect Monday afternoon for portions of Alabama and Georgia along with parts of both South and North Carolina. “Severe thunderstorms, including isolated tornadoes, can occur in the swath from central Alabama through central and northern Georgia, middle and upstate South Carolina and part of North Carolina into Monday evening,” AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
A tornado warning had been issued for parts of the Charlotte, North Carolina, metro area Monday afternoon, but it expired after the storm threat passed, the National Weather Service said.
In the southern Kentucky town of Tompkinsville, a severe storm Monday morning damaged several homes and knocked down trees and power lines.
The weather service also said that ongoing severe thunderstorms and heavy rains may bring damaging gusts, large hail, a few tornadoes and flash flooding across parts of the southern Plains into the middle Mississippi and lower Ohio Valleys throughout the day and evening on Monday.
Larger metro areas such as Little Rock, Arkansas; St. Louis and Indianapolis could be in the crosshairs of these dangerous thunderstorms, AccuWeather said.
On Sunday afternoon and into the nighttime hours, a line of severe storms rolled through Mississippi. Late in the day, a “tornado emergency” was declared for Tupelo and surrounding areas.
“Damage has been reported in the City of Tupelo,” the mayor’s office said in a Facebook post just before 11 p.m. “Emergency crews are currently assessing the degree of damage. Please do not get out and drive.”
Photos retweeted by the weather service in Memphis showed several downed trees and power lines. Tupelo Middle School sustained some damage, as well as houses and businesses.
There were multiple reports of damage to homes on Elvis Presley Drive, just down the street from the home where the famed singer was born.
News outlets also reported tornadoes near Yazoo City, Byram and Tchula earlier in the day. The weather service in Jackson shared several images of funnel clouds across different parts of the state.
In the western part of the country, a storm in Colorado continued to bring heavy snow to the central Rockies. Up to a foot of snow was forecast to accumulate by Monday night, the weather service said, and winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect across northern and central Colorado.
And in California, temperatures 10 to 15 degrees higher than average could bring a threat of wildfires.
“The combination of warm temperatures, low relative humidity, expanding drought conditions and gusty winds could produce an elevated fire weather threat,” the weather service said.
Contributing: Jorge Ortiz, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 100 million in the path of severe weather and possible tornadoes
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