NATIONAL NEWS – Dangerous storms in the South leave 12 dead in two states

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

A major storm combined with heavy rain brought intense winds and flash floods to the South overnight. These storms have caused at least 11 deaths in Kentucky and Georgia. The storms have rendered a number of roads and bridges unusable while knocking out the power to thousands of homes and businesses in the region. The National Weather Service Report reported one tornado that touched down in Alabama overnight. Numerous others were in addition numerous other states received tornado warnings. The slow-moving storm system dropped significant rainfall across Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee throughout the day on Saturday. Thunderstorms later formed overnight creating windy conditions. 

Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park Maryland said, “The high winds across the South caused several reports of damage to trees, to homes, so a very impactful event.” The Kentucky governor Any Beshear spoke at a press conference Monday morning where he announced that 11 people had been confirmed dead after the storm including a woman and child who died in the floodwaters. He went on to say that the number of fatalities could rise as the storms continue to get worse. The most recent death happened after a tree fell on their home.