At least two people lost their lives in a severe storm that raced over the Eastern United States on Monday, while more than 1.1 million people lost power.
The situation was characterised by strong thunderstorms and warnings, culminating in damaging weather conditions over ten states, from Tennessee to New York.
Several states reported seeing fallen trees and electrical lines that blocked roads and damaged several homes.
“This is one of the most impactful severe weather events that we have seen in the Mid-Atlantic,” said Chris Strong, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, during a Facebook Live briefing.
The Washington, D.C. area had thunderstorms, a lot of rain, and strong gusts, which added to the severity of the weather event, according to the National Weather Service and The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.
The affected area was part of the Eastern Seaboard, where a significant portion of the Eastern Coast was under the influence of sustained heat and intense storms from Monday afternoon until 9 PM.
On Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service stated that over 29.5 million people were under the storm’s watch.
Flight tracking website FlightAware reported that over 2,600 American flights were canceled by Monday night, with nearly 7,900 flights delayed. PowerOutage.us stated that more than 1 million Americans were without electricity.
The National Weather Service emphasized, “There exists the possibility of a substantial occurrence of severe weather within certain sections of the Eastern United States.”today, with widespread and localized damaging winds and tornadoes posing the greatest threat, especially in the Southern/Mid-Atlantic and Central Appalachian states.”
Amidst the challenging weather conditions, at least two fatalities were reported due to the storm on Monday. One example involves a 15-year-old boy who sadly perished in Anderson County, South Carolina, after a tree fell on his car.. Another case reported a 28-year-old individual in Florence, Alabama, who died due to a fallen power line.
Power cuts were widespread, affecting more than 1 million people across storm-impacted states, according to PowerOutage.US. In North Carolina, 211,746 customers lost power by Monday evening. Similar situations occurred in Pennsylvania (131,644 customers), Georgia (77,311 customers), and Maryland (85,652 customers), all of whom were left without power into the late hours of Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced that it was rerouting planes around the approaching storms as much as possibleThese storms produced tornadoes, flash flooding, and sudden downpours in addition to possibly damaging gusts that could potentially bring down trees and cause power outages.
Meteorologists warned that the remainder of the week could continue to see a similar pattern, with the majority of the eastern region facing continuous rain and thunderstorms. Although July had seen relatively less rainfall, external factors and travel could pose challenges on a daily basis.
It was emphasized that this storm might not reach the intensity of a hurricane in the Mid-Atlantic, but some “derecho-like effects” could occur. This referred to straight-line winds that could topple trees and create power cuts, hailstorms, sudden flooding, and tornadoes.
Weather experts stated that the severe heat experienced by over 6.5 billion people in July due to climate change might lessen in August, especially in the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern regions.
As of now, August temperatures have been on average 3-6 degrees lower from Washington, D.C. to Boston. However, experts cautioned that heat might return to the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern regions towards the middle and end of August as children return to school, which could carry risks due to high humidity and windy conditions.
Even as the severe heat subsides in some areas, southern regions continue to experience high temperatures. The National Weather Service warned that Monday and Tuesday could bring “dangerously hot daytime temperatures” across the South, with heat indexes reaching 105-115 degrees due to dry soil conditions and strong winds.The likelihood of wildfires in Texas and the other states is increased by these circumstances.
