Severe storms roared through southern states causing several deaths, injuries and at least millions of dollars in damage to numerous structures.
Across the south, the foul weather resulted in two deaths and power outages that left thousands of people without electricity.
Fallen trees took down power lines and crashed into buildings along a line from Texas to Alabama. Similar cases were reported in parts of Georgia and southeast Virginia.
The Carolinas took the brunt of the storms. Gusts exceeding 50 mph brought down trees and powerlines. Utilities have reported that more than 200,000 customers were left without power across Georgia, North and South Carolina and Virginia. The majority of people affected by blackouts were in the Carolinas, with around 145,000 affected. Long after the storms were gone, more than 50,000 people remained without electricity in Arkansas.
In Columbia, South Carolina, a weather station near the city recorded a gust of 79 mph- winds more commonly seen in category 1 hurricanes. A 78 mph gust was also documented in Duck, North Carolina as the storms barreled through.
In two separate cases in Mississippi and South Carolina, two deaths were reported caused by falling trees.
Wind gusts of up to 45 mph and hail were seen with some of the stronger storms in Missouri and Kentucky, although no major damage was reported.
Tornadoes and hail had been listed as possibilities for residents of the Missouri River Valley in the Midwest.
In Ohio, heavy rains led to landslides and flooded roads. Flooding also caused problems for travelers in Philadelphia and New Jersey when the Delaware river overflowed in some areas and flooded commuter railroad stations, forcing travel services to be suspended.
Over 3,500 flights were delayed in the eastern U.S. on Thursday, with the majority of the delays occurring in New York City-area airports.
Dry weather is expected to return to much of the region and forecasted to last into the first full week of summer.
