CNN
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A massive storm system unleashed high winds and thunderstorms across the East Coast on Monday, killing at least two people and knocking out power to more than 1 million utility customers from Pennsylvania to Georgia.
In the northwest Alabama city of Florence, a 28-year-old man died after being struck by lightning in a parking lot on Monday, police said – a rarity in the United States where only about 20 people are killed on average by lightning strikes annually. , according to the police. National Weather Service.
In Anderson County, South Carolina, Evan Christopher Kinley, 15, was killed when a tree fell on him during a severe storm, according to the county coroner's office. The teen had just arrived at his grandparents' home and got out of his car when the tree fell, the office said.
The storm system brought heavy rain, thunder and violent winds of up to 70 mph across parts of the coast from New York to Mississippi — and caused major travel disruptions in the sky. By Monday night, more than 400 reports of strong winds had been reported across the region.
Footage from CNN affiliate WVLT showed homes in Knoxville, Tennessee, with their roofs torn off and debris scattered on neighborhood lawns. In neighboring Loudoun County, the school district announced that one high school would be closed Tuesday due to storm damage.
Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/AP
Baltimore County firefighters speak with a resident after several trees snapped power lines and fell on her daughter's car in Towson, Maryland, on Monday.
More than 8,000 flights into, from or into the United States were delayed Monday, and more than 1,600 flights were cancelled, according to data from FlightAware.com. The worst-hit airports included Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, LaGuardia Airport in New York, and Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., according to the website.
Nine simultaneous ground stops, preventing flights from landing, were in effect at airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, and Philadelphia International Airport.
Live updates:Devastating storms hit the eastern United States
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As the sun set, hundreds of thousands of Americans were without power, with the most outages recorded Monday night in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Maryland, according to PowerOutage.us.
In Georgia, crews went out as soon as the skies cleared Monday evening and worked to restore power, after uprooted trees, strong winds, hail and rain toppled power lines, according to the utility company. Georgia Power.
Parts of the country that were hit by severe weather on Monday may still not be out of the woods, as new threats may develop on Tuesday.
The Storm Prediction Center says there is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms — Level 2 of 5 — Tuesday afternoon in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, as well as parts of Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas. There is an enhanced risk – level 3 out of 5 – in a smaller portion of the last three cases.
Areas at risk on Tuesday will generally be to the south or west of where destructive storms rage on Monday. While that's good news for residents cleaning up after Monday's chaos, it also means more than 5 million additional people are at risk from damaging winds and heavy rain on Tuesday.
