At least four people have died and 10 others injured as severe weather hit the Mid-West and Mid-South regions of the United States overnight, according to initial reports from NBC News early Thursday (April 3) morning.
More than 400,000 residents are reported to be without power in both regions including more than 116,000 in Michigan, 94,000 in Indiana, 60,000 in Ohio, 31,000 in Kentucky, 25,000 in Arkansas, 15,000 in Tennessee, 14,000 in West Virginia, 11,000 in Mississippi, 11,000 in Missouri and 11,000 in Texas, as of 8:45 a.m. ET, according to PowerOutage.us. NBC News said it received widespread reports of destroyed buildings, toppled vehicles and downed trees, which were caused by tornadoes and very large hail early Thursday morning.
The National Weather Service warned that the storms could result in "life-threatening, catastrophic and potentially historic" flash flooding throughout the Lower Ohio Valley and Mid-South Thursday morning, as forecasters said residents "should prepare for possible long duration and severe disruptions to daily life" with 10 and 15 inches of rainfall expected through the weekend.
Nashville was under a tornado warning between 3:00 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. local time with three deaths reported while flooding remains in the area.
"If you are northwest of the red line, you are clear from severe weather for the morning. Otherwise, isolated severe storms are possible for another couple of hours. Flooding will be the main concern through late morning with many roads already experiencing flooding," the National Weather Service said with a graphic cutting through Middle Tennessee.