Topline
At least two people were killed and nearly half a million homes and businesses remained without power early on Tuesday, after several states along the East Coast—stretching from New York to Georgia—were struck by severe storms on Monday evening.
Storm clouds darken the sky over the Washington Monument in Washington.
Key Facts
A 15-year-old in South Carolina was killed after the heavy winds and downpour caused a large tree to fall on him and a 28-year-old man in Alabama died after being struck by lightning.
The extreme weather caused more than a million homes to lose power on Monday evening, and nearly 480,000 homes remained without power early on Tuesday, according to Poweroutage.us.
More than 29.5 million people—from Alabama to New York—were under a Tornado watch on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Apart from severe rainfall and winds, flooding and “ping pong ball size” hail were reported along the path of the storm.
Big Number
1,759. That is the total number of flights that were canceled across the country on Monday—a majority of them due to the storms—according to FlightAware’s tracker.
Key Background
The U.S. has seen multiple extreme weather events in the past few months, with the east coast region, in particular, experiencing torrential rainfall and dangerous flash flooding. Last month, scientists from NASA warned that such flood events could get “bigger and more intense” as climate change drives up global temperatures and sea levels. Earlier this year, another group of climate scientists reported an “abnormal” rise in sea levels along the East Coast and warned that communities in this region could be more at risk than previously predicted. While the eastern part of the country has dealt with severe storms and flooding the Southwest has been in the grip of a historic heat wave, which a group of scientists said would be “virtually impossible” without human-driven climate change.
Further Reading
D.C.-Baltimore Storm System Brings Rare Risk Of Tornadoes, High Winds And Hail (Forbes)
