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At least three people, including two children, were killed as a series of severe storms moved across the Midwest and South on Monday (August 29) night. The storms brought heavy rains, hail, and wind gusts of up to 80 mph and left nearly one million people without power.
A 14-year-old girl from Monroe, Michigan, died after she inadvertently touched a down power line in her backyard.
"Officers on-scene learned that the victim was walking with a friend in the backyard of her residence and believed that they could smell a bonfire. The victim reached for what she believed was a stick, however, it was the charged electrical line," the Monroe Public Safety Department said in a Facebook post.
In Arkansas, an 11-year-old boy was killed after he was swept in a storm drain. A 47-year-old woman tried to rescue the boy, but she was unable to save him and ended up in the hospital.
Officials in Toledo, Ohio, confirmed that a woman was killed after a tree fell on top of her.
"Crews responded a short time later and found that there was an adult patient underneath the tree, and unfortunately, that patient had succumbed to their injuries and was declared deceased," said Toledo Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Allison Armostory, according to WGTV.
The storms are continuing to move east, bringing severe weather to Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
"Like on Monday, damaging winds will be the primary threat from storms on Tuesday," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Andrew Johnson-Levine.
In Jackson, Mississippi, residents were advised not to drink the water after the city's main water treatment facility failed amid heavy flooding and record-setting rainfall.