Washington— A powerful cold front barreled across the Midwest and Ohio Valley Tuesday and into early Wednesday, causing dozens of tornado warnings and large hail reports for 44 million people in the eastern U.S., including Atlanta, Baltimore, Washington, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
As the powerful cold front moved eastward, severe weather threatened the western Appalachians, Carolinas, mid-Atlantic, and Northeast on Wednesday.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) rated northern Alabama and North Georgia, including Atlanta, Level 1 on its 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale, northward through western New England.
The National Weather Service issued flood watches for northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and parts of Maine.
"If you’re trying to travel today, even if you’re not getting rain, the wind is going to be a huge factor," Van Dillen said. The Northeast and New England have Wind Advisories for gusts up to 50 mph, while New York state's eastern Great Lakes have High Wind Warnings. In anticipation of 60-mph winds, northern coastal Maine and Cape Cod in Massachusetts have been issued a High Wind Warning.
No injuries have been reported from the devastating thunderstorms and likely tornadoes that hit Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan.
The NWS identified a Tuesday tornado in Henry County, Michigan, as an EF-1. An EF-2 tornado hit Calhoun County, according to the NWS.
Columbus, Ohio, issued tornado warnings before dawn Wednesday as a line of thunderstorms swept through. John Glenn Airport advised terminal passengers to take cover. Severe thunderstorms have caused significant wind and hail damage in Kentucky. Around and north of Lexington and Frankfort, wind gusts reached 50-60 mph and radar detected hail above 1 inch.
Follow for more updates