Two dead as storms rumble across South

Wed., Oct. 15, 2014

Jeff Martin Associated Press

On hurricane watch

• PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Hurricane Gonzalo grew into a major Category 3 storm and gathered more strength Tuesday night as it headed toward Bermuda after killing a man in the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten, authorities said.

The storm had top sustained winds of nearly 125 mph and was centered about 705 miles south of Bermuda late Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was moving northwest at 13 mph.

Forecasters said Gonzalo could become a powerful Category 4 hurricane today as it spins over open waters through Friday on a track toward Bermuda. Category 4 storms have sustained winds of at least 130 mph with the potential to cause catastrophic damage.

• HONOLULU –Tropical Storm Ana is forecast to strengthen to a hurricane this week as it moves toward the southern edge of Hawaii’s Big Island, which was hit by a destructive tropical storm two months ago, meteorologists said Tuesday.

Ana is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane – the lowest level, with winds of 74 to 95 mph – this morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Brenchley said.

The storm is forecast to clip the Big Island’s rural Puna district on Saturday afternoon. The storm’s effects may be felt up to 100 miles outside its center, so the entire Big Island would be affected if Ana stays on its projected path, Brenchley said.

The storm is expected to pass about 70 miles south of Maui the next morning.

ATLANTA – A severe storm system roughed up much of the South for a second day Tuesday, knocking out power to tens of thousands as it snarled morning commutes and kept many under a tornado watch.

The vast system, which claimed two lives Monday after spinning off tornadoes in Arkansas and Missouri, sent heavy thunderstorms across much of Georgia.

The Storm Prediction Center said more than 36 million people were in the path of damaging storms that formed in the Midwest earlier in the week. The center said possible tornadoes and damaging wind gusts remained a threat as the storms headed across the southern Appalachians into the Carolinas.

Georgia Power reported roughly 3,000 customers without electricity Tuesday afternoon, while Alabama Power reported about 7,000 still without power. Tornadoes also touched down in two Atlanta suburbs. An EF1 tornado hit Alpharetta – northeast of Atlanta – and an EF0 tornado was confirmed in East Point, southeast of downtown Atlanta, said Ryan Willis, National Weather Service meteorologist.

The storms downed trees and power lines in Louisiana, leaving thousands without electricity.

A major utility provider in Louisiana, Entergy, said more than 37,000 customers remained without power.

In Alabama a day earlier, a tree fell on a mobile home about 25 miles northwest of Birmingham, killing a 75-year-old woman and injuring her husband, a coroner said. A tornado near Ashdown, Arkansas, killed a man and injured his wife when their home was destroyed Monday, said authorities, adding it was one of two tornadoes in the state that day.

Two tornadoes also touched down Monday in Missouri, causing roof damage and toppling trees, according to the National Weather Service. And in Texas, lightning was suspected in a fire that set an oil well site ablaze near Longview.

Authorities said the storms dumped enough rain in Tennessee to cause street flooding in Chattanooga, forcing road closures.

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