A severe winter storm killed at least seven people and left almost half a million energy customers without power Monday morning as strong winds and heavy rain caused havoc from the mid-Atlantic to the South.
Four people were killed in Michigan, two died in Indiana and one person was killed in Oklahoma, officials said. An EF-2 tornado in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, on Monday ripped the home off a roof but caused no injuries.
The threat of severe weather and heavy rain continued for a region from the mid-Atlantic to parts of the Southeast through Monday night, the National Weather Service said.
The Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that three people from the same family were killed when a tree hit a vehicle Sunday, with three others taken to hospitals. One was in critical condition, and the two others were stable, the statement said.
In Ingham County, a 58-year-old man died Sunday after a tree fell onto his house, the sheriff’s office there told NBC affiliate WILX of Lansing.
The Porter County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a man died Sunday in Valparaiso, Indiana, when his semitruck and trailer were blown over in winds of up to 80 mph. The victim was identified as Jagbir Singh, 34, and there were widespread reports of trees’ being knocked down or uprooted in strong gusts.
A man was killed in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, when a tree fell onto a camper just before 2 a.m. Sunday, NBC affiliate KJRH of Tulsa reported, citing local officials.
A preliminary report from the weather service office in northern Indiana said one person was killed when an Amish buggy was toppled in high winds in Millersburg, Indiana. NBC News contacted law enforcement officials but did not receive confirmation of the report until early Monday.
The city of Elkhart, Indiana, said that while there were no deaths overnight, there was extensive damage, including a collapsed building. Police warned people not to leave their homes unless it was “absolutely necessary.”
The weather service urged people under tornado watches to know where their nearest shelter is and to immediately go there. A resident in Vancleave, Mississippi, posted video online Sunday showing an enormous funnel cloud. Another potential tornado was recorded in Doniphan, Missouri, against a backdrop of dark, foreboding clouds.
Freezing rain and high winds brought down power lines across the Great Lakes region, from Michigan to Wisconsin, while forecasters warned that the severe weather is headed south and could reach Tennessee.
On Monday morning, almost 300,000 energy customers in Michigan were in the dark, and more than 50,000 customers each were without power in Wisconsin and Indiana.
By 6 p.m. Monday, that number had eased slightly, with 269,736 customers without power in Michigan, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency Monday for 10 counties, which allows state aid.
“We will get through this together,” she said in a statement.
The weather service office in Gaylord, Michigan, posted pictures showing almost an inch of ice had accumulated there.
Jesika Fox told The Associated Press that she and her husband drove for more than 40 minutes from Alpena, Michigan, to find fuel for a generator that lost power Saturday night.
“We just passed a veterinary clinic. The entire front corner of the building was taken out by a tree,” said Fox, 36.
For the West Coast, a strong Pacific coastal weather system is due to bring heavy rain and winds of up to 70 mph to Northern California and southern Oregon in the next two days, the weather service said. Heavy snow of 2 to 4 feet is expected in the mountain regions, while the Great Basin and the northern and central Rockies could get upward of 12 inches.
This weather system will move east Tuesday into the Plains and the Mississippi Valley, continuing the volatile conditions.