One person was killed and others were injured after a suspected tornado struck the Columbia, Tennessee, area south of Nashville on Wednesday, authorities said.
Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder said in a statement that one person died in the storms that hit near the community of around 41,000.
“The city of Columbia did appear to avoid the worst of the storm in the city limits but very close by was a different story,” he wrote on social media.
Maury Regional Health said it had received five patients, including the person who died. One of the injured was in serious condition and three suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, the hospital in Columbia said.
“This is a developing situation with multiple agencies responding,” Maury Regional Health spokesperson Rita Thompson said.
The possible tornado that touched down at around 5:55 p.m. tracked for approximately two miles, Maury County Fire Department Deputy Chief Richard Schatz told reporters Wednesday night.
“Multiple houses have been completely destroyed,” he said. He said there was one death and multiple injuries, but did not have an estimate on the number of those hurt.
Brianne Lovett lost her home in the tornado. She told NBC News affiliate WSMV of Nashville that she was on her porch “and it got real still, and I’ve never seen that before.” Then she saw the clouds, and a friend called and said a tornado had touched down.
“That’s when I hollered to everybody to get in the closet,” Lovett told the station. “The next thing we knew, we just seen sky. My house is gone. It’s gone.”
The storms in Columbia occurred on a day that had 13 reports of tornadoes in seven states, including Tennessee, according to the National Weather Service. Storm surveys will later confirm if they were tornadoes.
The threat of damaging damaging winds, large hail and possible tornadoes will continue for an area from Texas to the mid-Atlantic through Thursday.
In Huntsville, Alabama, forecasters at 9:36 p.m. Wednesday warned people to “seek shelter now!” in all capital letters.
“Tornado confirmed on the ground just north of Governors Drive in Huntsville moving eastward,” the weather service there said on X. “Those downstream also need to be prepared to seek shelter soon too!!”
Huntsville police said on social media that damage was reported in downtown Huntsville and the Five Points and Blossomwood areas, which are also in the city.
In Little Rock, Arkansas, residents were also warned to be prepared.
“This round will impact nearly the entire state. Remember to have multiple ways of receiving warnings as most of this event will be nocturnal,” the National Weather Service for Little Rock said.
The severe weather follows devastating overnight tornadoes in Michigan.
The city of Portage, about 100 miles west of Ann Arbor, was hit with two tornadoes, Mayor Patricia M. Randall said in a statement. One ripped off the side of a FedEx facility, trapping about 50 workers, Kalamazoo County spokesperson Taylor Koopman said.
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that all workers had been safely rescued from the building.
A tornado also destroyed entire residences at the Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Park in Kalamazoo County, Koopman said. About 20 people were injured, according to the sheriff’s office.
Portage city officials said there were no reports of fatalities or serious injuries but that many people have lost their homes. A local state of emergency was declared in the county following significant damage left in the tornado’s wake.
Wednesday’s storm system is expected to trigger flash flooding. As many as 7 million people throughout the Tennessee Valley and the Ohio Valley region are under flood alerts through Thursday morning, with the possibility of 1 to 3 inches of rain. Cities including Nashville, Tennessee; Lexington, Kentucky; and Charleston, South Carolina, could see localized flash flooding.
The National Weather Service station in Nashville bluntly warned people on X: “If you live in Middle TN, DO NOT be out driving tonight. Over half of the area has a Flash Flood Warning (or Emergency!) in effect with additional rainfall moving in.”
“Flooding will only get worse tonight!” the weather service said.
Other cities including Bowling Green and Paducah, Kentucky, and Clarksville and Knoxville, Tennessee, are under a moderate flood threat.
On Thursday, 60 million people from the mid-Atlantic to the central and eastern parts of Texas could be hit with very large hail and possible isolated tornadoes.
The Midwest has been subject to a highly active weather pattern since April 1, thanks to an active jet stream pattern that has both fueled the storm systems as well as steered them across the country. April and May are generally the peak months for severe weather.