A powerful storm is bringing “life-threatening” flooding in the eastern half of the United States this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Millions of Americans were under flood warnings as heavy rain triggered flooding in southwestern Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky on Saturday, the weather service said. In response, dozens of rivers and streams in the region are expected to reach moderate to major flooding by early in the week.
Severe thunderstorms and torrential downpours through Saturday night could even produce multiple tornadoes, said AccuWeather severe weather expert Guy Pearson. A tornado watch was in effect Saturday evening along a line of storms extending north from central Louisiana into western Tennessee, affecting about 3.5 million people. The NWS also issued tornado warnings for select parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi on Saturday night.
Portions of the Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley and Lower Mississippi Valleys all stand a chance of being hit with widespread showers and thunderstorms as the storm moves eastward to the Appalachians, the weather service said.
Videos capture floods in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia
Videos compiled by The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, show the floods triggered by heavy rain across parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.
Rising rivers in Virginia, Kentucky
In Virginia, Russell and Wise counties were particularly hard hit with water rescues reported, the weather service said. More rain was forecast into the early morning hours.
The Russell Fork River in Haysi, Virginia rose more than 15 feet in about eight hours on Saturday, a U.S. Geological Survey gauge showed.
Further to the east, the James River in Richmond was rising and expected to reach moderate flood stage by Monday.
The Cumberland River at Baxter, Kentucky rose almost 20 feet on Saturday, as did the Kentucky River, near Ravenna, the weather service said.
‘Life-threatening’ flooding possible in Kentucky, Tennessee
The “life-threatening flash flooding event” is most dangerous in northwestern Tennessee and western Kentucky, where a high risk of “excessive rainfall” is in place, the weather service said.
The impending storm prompted Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to declare a state of emergency Friday.
“We want everyone to be careful,” Beshear said in a statement. “The amount of rain coming down will make it hard to drive, and flash flooding, especially across our roads, can create dangerous conditions.
As of Saturday afternoon, a nearly 500-mile stretch of flash flood warnings was in effect from eastern Arkansas to eastern Kentucky, according to Accuweather. Urban and hilly areas are particularly prone to deadly flooding where water levels on small streams and roads can rise several feet in minutes.
Water rescues were already taking place Saturday in south central Kentucky between Russellville and Scottsville, where 3.5-4.5 inches of rain had fallen and another 1-2 inches was expected, the weather service reported.
In four western Kentucky counties, between 2 and 3 inches of rain had fallen and up to another 3 inches is possible, the weather service warned Saturday afternoon. Parts of Carlisle, Graves, Hickman and Marshall counties were under a “considerable threat” of flash flooding until 7 p.m.
A rockslide was reported by emergency management officials on I-69 in Kentucky between Dawson Springs and Princeton, reported the weather service in Paducah. The weather service in Morristown, Tennessee said it was receiving reports of mud slides in hilly areas.
Such slides can be more common in winter when plants and shrubs are dormant.
Where are flood watches and warnings in place? See map
Flash flooding from the torrential downpours is also possible from northeastern Texas to southern West Virginia, western North Carolina and northern and central Georgia.
The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center says severe weather is possible in the Lower Mississippi Valley and central Gulf Coast. The Lower Mississippi Valley is the nation’s largest floodplain, covering more than 24 million acres across portions Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
As of Saturday afternoon, heavy rains and flash floods had already started pummeling parts of Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin posed on social media site X.
“Stay alert – don’t fight the water, just leave, and call for help,” Youngkin said.
How much rain is expected?
Anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of rain could fall through Sunday morning across the region from northern Mississippi and eastern Arkansas to southern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania and much of West Virginia.
Many parts of Tennessee and Kentucky are projected to receive 4-8 inches of rain from the storm.
Such intense rainfall, especially when combined with rain that had fallen earlier in the week, poses of risk of causing rivers to rise and flood.
“Moderate to major flooding is forecast for multiple secondary rivers in Kentucky and Tennessee,” according to AccuWeather. “The combined rainfall from last Monday to this upcoming Sunday may reach 20 inches in some locations.”
Storm to exit into the Atlantic by Sunday evening
The flooding risk is expected to lessen heading into the evening as a cold front moves in and storms clear more quickly, according to the weather service. However, as the showers and thunderstorms spread into the east coast from Sunday morning into the afternoon, some areas of the southern Mid-Atlantic are still at risk for isolated flash flooding.
While flash flooding may extend from northern and central Florida to Maryland, Delaware and southern New Jersey, storms should largely wind down by Sunday evening as the front moves into the Atlantic.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
