WASHINGTON.- At least two people died thousands of flights in the US were canceled or delayed, and more than 1.1 million homes and businesses were without power Monday as intense storms, including hail and lightning, tore through the eastern United States.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for the DC metropolitan area until 9:00 p.m., as well as a flood watch through Tuesday morning. A special statement from the service warned that “significant risk of damaging hurricane-force winds exists locally, as well as potential hail and tornadoes, including severe tornadoes.”
The range of the storms was enormous, and tornado watches were issued for 10 states, from Tennessee to New York. The National Weather Service said tornado watches were in effect for more than 29.5 million people as of Monday afternoon.
In Anderson, South Carolina, a 15-year-old boy who arrived at his grandparents’ house during the storm was killed when a tree fell on him as he got out of a car, according to the Anderson County Coroner’s Office.
In Florence, Alabama, a man was struck and killed by lightning, according to WAAY-TV.
As of Monday evening, about 2,600 flights in the country had been canceled and more than 7,900 had been delayed, according to the FlightAware flight tracking service. Many of the cancellations were at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which was still dealing with complications from Sunday’s storms.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was rerouting planes bound for storm zones on the East Coast.
The White House advanced the departure of the president, Joe Biden, by 90 minutes, on a four-day trip that would take him to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The Office of Personnel Management announced Monday that all non-emergency employees would have to leave before 3:00 p.m., when all federal offices closed.
“This appears to be one of the most significant bouts of severe weather on the mid-Atlantic coast that we’ve had in quite some time,” National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Strong said at a news conference broadcast live on Facebook.
“Get into a solid shelter. Whether at home or at work,” she added.
Storms forced the postponement of a Major League Baseball game between the Phillies and the Washington Nationals in Philadelphia. In Maryland, the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Tuesday after 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) of rain fell in a short period of time.
By early afternoon, more than 1.1 million customers were without power in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia, all states in the path of the storm system, according to poweroutage.us. The Knoxville Supply Board tweeted that the damage in its Tennessee area of operation was “widespread and extensive,” and would likely take several days to repair.
FOUNTAIN: With information from AP
