Severe storms leave hundreds without power, debris scattered throughout Madison County

Severe storms overnight left debris scattered throughout Madison County and left several homes and businesses without power this morning.

Metal from a building was scattered on 421 near Kingston and fallen trees and power lines were down along U.S. 25 near Battlefield Golf Course.

As of 10 a.m. this morning, 1,644 customers were without power. A tornado warning was issued in Berea and surrounding counties at 3 a.m. Thursday and expired at approximately 3:45 a.m.

On Wednesday evening and into early Thursday morning, violent storms tore through cities from Oklahoma to Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee during what could be a record-setting period of deadly weather and flooding, destroying homes and sending debris nearly 5 miles (8 kilometers) into the air in one location.

Dozens of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued Wednesday and early Thursday from Texas to West Virginia and Tennessee.

The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed two weather-related fatalities, one in McNairy County and the other in Obion County, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency announced early Thursday.

A man was killed in a home damaged by the storm near Moscow, Tennessee, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Memphis, according to Ray Garcia, chief deputy of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. Garcia also reported downed trees and power lines in the county, and officials are preparing for more rain and strong storms Thursday.

“It looks like a swimming pool in my front yard,” he told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to daytime heating combining with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming into the nation’s midsection from the Gulf.

Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri Highway Patrol said at least one person was killed in southeast Missouri, KFVS-TV reported, while part of a warehouse collapsed in a suburb of Indianapolis, temporarily trapping at least one person inside. In northeast Arkansas a rare tornado emergency was issued as debris flew thousands of feet in the air.

The coming days were also forecast to bring the risk of potentially deadly flash flooding to the South and Midwest as severe thunderstorms blowing eastward become supercharged. The potent storm system will bring “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” each day through Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.