Fierce storms wreak havoc on eastern U.S. with power outages, canceled flights and other mayhem

At least two people died Monday as a slew of storms swept through the eastern U.S., disrupting thousands of flights, knocking out power to more than 1.1 million, and sparking tornado watches or warnings from Tennessee to New York.

“There is a significant threat for damaging and locally destructive hurricane-force winds, along with the potential for large hail and tornadoes, even strong tornadoes,” the National Weather Service said in a special statement ahead of the 5 p.m. storm, along with a flood watch extending through Tuesday morning.

The storm, tragically, delivered.

In Anderson County, South Carolina, 15-year-old Evan Kinley died when a tree fell on him as he stood at the entrance of his grandparents’ garage, WHNS-TV reported. It was about 5 p.m. when the large tree uprooted and tipped over onto him, the county coroner’s office told the outlet.

Florence, Alabama, saw a 28-year-old man killed by a lightning strike in the parking lot of an industrial park where he was a worker, police in that city said. His identity was being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.

In Washington, federal offices closed at 3 p.m., and President Biden departed 90 minutes ahead of schedule for a planned four-day trip through Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. A back-to-school cybersecurity event featuring First Lady Jill Biden and a number of other federal officials, plus education experts from around the country.

At least 1,500 flights had been canceled by late Monday afternoon, with more than 7,000 delayed, a good 25% of them at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which was still reeling from Sunday’s storms. LaGuardia Airport was also heavily affected, as was Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C.

The flights that did take off were rerouted around the weather system, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

Power outages plagued more than 1.1 million households and businesses across the storm system’s path through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia.

At least eight upstate New York counties were under tornado watch, and National Weather Service officials were heading to a small town near Syracuse on Tuesday to confirm whether a tornado had occurred, Syracuse.com reported.

Heavy rain, thunder and up to 70mph winds hit coastlines from New York to Mississippi, with more than 400 reports of strong winds, CNN reported.

With News Wire Services