One person was killed and several others were injured when a likely tornado surprised a rural area of Kentucky early the morning of May 30, as storms shifted their sights on the South and Mid-Atlantic region after turning deadly in Texas earlier in the week.
Officials in Washington County, about 70 miles from Louisville, said they started receiving calls about damaged homes and missing people at about 7 a.m. on May 30. Seven people were injured and one was killed, Judge Executive Timothy Graves told reporters. Two homes were destroyed.
“It was a small area that was hit but it was devastating,” Graves said.
The person who died in Texas was swept away in floodwaters on May 28 after a “brief but very powerful storm” that caused downed trees, damage from hail and winds, power outages and flash flooding, Austin City Manager TC Broadnax said at a news conference. The storm dumped 2 to 3 inches of rain within half an hour, officials said.
On May 29, a reported tornado that tore through Georgia damaged or destroyed homes in Henry County, Georgia, including that of “The Wire” actor Tray Chaney, who said he and his son were injured.
Forecasters said states including Georgia, the Carolinas and parts of the Mid-Atlantic were in the path of “a rather strong system for late May” that will reach New England by the weekend. The storm will bring heavy rain across the Ohio Valley during the day and the northern Mid-Atlantic by night on May 30. The thunderstorms and rain are increasing chances of dangerous flash flooding in the region, according to the National Weather Service.
Impacts from the storms could include wind damage, large hail and a few tornadoes, the Storm Prediction Center said.
More than 21 million people were under flood watches in the region the morning of May 30, in states including Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.
Kentucky tornado took residents by surprise
Officials in Washington County, Kentucky, said they were not expecting severe weather the morning of May 30. Alerts from the National Weather Service went out to people’s phones, but there isn’t a siren in the area to alert people, said Kevin Devine with the Washington County Emergency Management.
Devine said downed trees were blocking a road and rivers and creeks were flooded from heavy rain. Roads that flooded have since opened back up. One car was also hit by a tree, but nobody was injured in that incident.
The conditions of the seven people injured weren’t immediately available, he said. A 3-year-old who was missing right after the storm was found and among those transported to a hospital, Devine said.
Tray Chaney, son injured in Georgia storm
Chaney said in posts to social media that a tornado destroyed his home and injured him and his son Malachi in Locust Grove, Georgia, in Henry County, about 35 miles outside Atlanta.
“I lost my house. I lost everything in it,” he said in a video posted to Instagram, standing in front of debris from a destroyed home. “Thank God I’m still living.”
Chaney said he was knocked unconscious with his face in mud and debris all around him. He woke up “in a panic” searching for his son, who had been thrown 300 feet from his bedroom and was found in the woods behind the house. Malachi was being treated in intensive care, Chaney said.
Preliminary reports to the National Weather Service said a tornado came through Henry County at about 2:30 p.m. on May 29.
“Cherish life as much as you can,” Chaney said. “Me and my son had a beautiful day today… in a split second, my house is gone.
Storms in Texas led to several water rescues, 1 death
The storms that hit in central Texas on May 28 rolled through Austin quickly. Between 6 and 7 p.m., the storm peaked and winds reached up to 77 mph, officials said. During that time, calls for help to 911 also surged.
“This was a fast-moving, destructive storm with whole trees ripped down, extensive damage to homes, property and electrical equipment,” Austin Energy Interim General Manager Stuart Riley said.
Austin’s emergency responders responded to nine water rescue calls, said Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz. One of the calls was for an adult patient who had reportedly been submerged in floodwaters for over 20 minutes and was pronounced dead on the scene, Luckritz said.
The storm caused a river gauge to raise from 3 to 13 feet in 30 minutes, AccuWeather reported. It also blew out windows at the state Capitol building, the outlet reported.
“Within about 20 minutes, some areas of Austin saw a blanket of hail carpet the ground, flood waters quickly pour into low water crossings, whole trees ripped from the ground and expansive damage to homes, property and electric equipment,” Austin Energy said in a post to social media.
Storms to reach East Coast, New England through weekend
The storms impacting the South and Mid-West are part of a multi-day system that has been dumping rain and bringing thunderstorms to several regions of the United States. Again on May 30, much of the eastern half of the country is expected to see rain or thunderstorms. Major cities in the crosshairs include Charlotte, North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Atlanta, Georgia, the Storm Prediction Center said.
The storms on May 30 could be the most intense of the week for the East Coast, AccuWeather reported. As night falls, heavy rain is expected to move through the Interstate 81 and 95 corridors and can bring flash flooding to cities including Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia. Some of the cities impacted May 30 could be hit again the next day with more rain and storms.
Hazy outlook: Smoke, dust likely to impact US skies this weekend
As the month closes out, the storms are expected to reach New England by May 31, the National Weather Service said.
“With no immediate shift to a drier pattern, continued thunderstorm activity may hamper logistics, strain power infrastructure and disrupt outdoor operations” through the end of May, AccuWeather said.
