A severe winter storm has killed at least three and left almost half a million energy customers without power on Monday morning, as strong winds and heavy rain caused havoc from the Mid-Atlantic to the South.
“Large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes can all be expected” over the Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi Valleys, through the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Gulf Coast, the National Weather Service said in an early Monday forecast.
More than 70 million were under various weather alerts Sunday night.
The Porter County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a man died on Sunday in Valparaiso, Indiana, when his semi-truck and trailer were blown over in winds of up to 80 mph. The victim was identified as 34-year-old Jagbir Singh, 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 into a camper just before 2 a.m. on Sunday, NBC affiliate KJRH of Tulsa reported, citing local officials.
A preliminary report from the NWS office in northern Indiana said that one person was killed when an Amish buggy was toppled over in high winds in Millersburg, Indiana. NBC News contacted law enforcement officials but did not receive confirmation of this report until early Monday.