Silver Spring, Md. — Communities across the eastern United States were clearing away downed trees and power lines Tuesday after severe storms killed at least two people, damaged houses, cut electricity to more than 1.1 million homes and businesses, and canceled or delayed thousands of flights.
Forecasters received more than 900 reports of wind damage from Monday’s storms. Nearly 300 of those reports came from North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
A spokesperson for Maryland’s largest power utility, BGE, called the destruction “catastrophic.”
“This is damage that if you worked in electric distribution at BGE for your entire career, you may see it once,” Nick Alexopulos said at a news conference Monday night.
The storms spawned tornado watches and warnings in 10 states from Tennessee to New York with more than 29.5 million people under a tornado watch Monday afternoon.
A preliminary assessment of damage in Knoxville, Tennessee, found that an EF-2 tornado touched down with winds up to 130 mph (209 kph) and a path as wide as 200 yards (meters), the National Weather Service office in Morristown, Tennessee, announced Tuesday. The office said it will continue to assess the damage across the area.
Tornado strength is measured by an enhanced F-scale rating, with a significant tornado considered an EF2 or higher.
An EF-0 tornado with peak winds of 85 mph (137 kph) uprooted trees and damaged the outside of buildings near Lake Norman, North Carolina, when it touched down Monday, the NWS office in Greenville-Spartanburg confirmed Tuesday.
In Westminster, Maryland, dozens of vehicles were trapped amid a string of power lines that fell like dominoes onto a highway. No injuries were reported. Utility crews turned off the electricity to the power lines, and the 33 adults and 14 children in the vehicles were able to get out safety, Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland Butler said at a news conference Tuesday.
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