Severe storms continued to pound parts of the South and Midwest on Sunday, as a punishing and slow-moving storm system unleashed life-threatening flash floods and powerful tornadoes from Mississippi to Kentucky.
On Sunday, areas that had been battered by high winds and washed out by heavy rains since midweek saw additional inclement weather from the relentless storm system that's caused road closures, widespread power outages and some voluntary evacuations.
At least 18 people in multiple states have died from weather-related causes since Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Sunday morning that the state was in for another day or more of bad weather.
"Please, everybody be careful," he said. "We've tragically lost two individuals, two Kentuckians, two children of God already, and we don't want to lose any more."
One of those fatalities was 9-year-old Gabriel Andrews, who was swept away by floodwaters as he walked to his school bus stop in Frankfort Friday morning, WLKY .
The Tennessee Department of Health that 10 people had died in storms in that state. One of the fatalities was a Carroll County Electric Department lineman who died while working, .
Half of the deaths in Tennessee occurred in McNairy County. The McNairy County Emergency Management Agency that an EF3 tornado in the southwestern Tennessee county on Thursday damaged 332 buildings, destroying 108 of them.
Middle & West Tennesseans face a long road to recovery amid continued severe weather, & there is great hope in seeing how communities are coming together to serve their neighbors in this time of need.
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee)
According to the National Weather Service, parts of Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee more than a foot of rain, while areas of Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri saw more than 10 inches.
Flash flood warnings were in effect Sunday morning for portions of western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee and central Alabama.
Tornadoes had also in multiple states, and on Sunday morning tornado warnings were in effect for parts of Alabama and Mississippi.
More than 54,000 customers in Arkansas had no power early Sunday afternoon, while thousands were also in the dark in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas, according to the website .
The flight tracking website FlightAware reported that 103 flights in and out of the U.S. were canceled on Sunday and 2,892 were delayed.
In Tennessee, Montgomery and Obion counties issued voluntary evacuation orders Saturday for areas that were prone to flooding. In Kentucky, Beshear of Frankfort, to conserve water over the weekend.
The NWS in a Sunday forecast that the storm system 鈥� along with the threats of heavy rainfall and flash flooding 鈥� will move east into the Southeastern U.S. throughout the day.
Yet forecasters also warned that for several days in the affected areas even after the heavy rains have dissipated.
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