Winter storms bring floods and ‘Thunder Ice’ in several US states

Charleston, w.va. (AP) – Storms created at least one short tornado, sent brook over their banks and caused flash floods on Thursday in parts of West Virginia and Kentucky, while a winter mix of trees and roads in ice and even fell “Thunder Ice” in several states.

Residents and storm spotters in parts of Indiana, southern Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania reported the unusual mix of freezing rain accompanied by lightning in lightning in the unstable air.

“Have you ever seen it?” Brian Heffner from Spencerville, Ohio, said in a video he posted on Facebook. “I’ve never seen lightning and heard thunder under an ice cream storm. It’s cool. “

A large number of thunderstorms kept the residents awake overnight with hours of heavy rain, floods of neighborhoods, triggers mud glids and rocks and causes accidents where water is stambling on some intergovernmental highways. Schools in several counties delayed classes or closed Thursday.

Several drivers had to be saved after being stranded in the flooding water, West Virginia authorities said. And the rescues were not limited to people. Kanawha-Charleston Human Association asked the community to adopt or promote 15 dogs after part of its shelter began to be flooded.

Several centimeters of rain in Charleston caused county officials to activate an emergency surgery center. In Huntington, along the Ohio River, the residents were told back in their homes for several hours during flooding before the counseling was lifted on Thursday afternoon. Much of West Virginia and parts of eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio remained during flood warnings before Thursday night.

In southern central Kentucky, the National Weather Service confirmed a short-term EF1-Tornado with wind of up to 95 km / h (150 km / h) cracked some roofs and spread garbage in Hart County, about an hour south of Louisville. No injuries were immediately reported.

Late Thursday, serious storms moved with possible tornadoes through eastern Tennessee. Tennessee Highway Patrol said on social media that troops were in Morgan County and secured resident security and evaluating and helping with structural damage.

Morgan County School District said on his site that schools would be closed Friday due to “significant damage from tornadoes in parts of our county.”

A stormed trees and roads in ice in several mid -Atlantic conditions before warmer temperatures moved in at noon Thursday. Most areas avoided significant power cuts that can accompany the accumulation of ice on trees and power lines.

Forecasts for several centimeters of snow resulted in closures and delays for dozens of school systems in New England. In Maine, more than 200 schools and businesses were closed or closed early. The Kennebunk Area School District was one of many who chose to close fully instead of risking a messy commuting to afternoon school buses.

“Road conditions are expected to quickly deteriorate when the snow begins, which potentially put students and staff at risk if we were to implement an early liberation scenario,” said district superintendent Terri Cooper.

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Associated Press Author Sarah Brumfield Cockeysville, Maryland and Patrick Whittle in Scarborough, Maine, contributed to this report.