(NEW YORK) — Severe thunderstorms may bring damaging winds from the Great Lakes to the Northeast on Sunday, with a more widespread threat in the Heartland early in the week. Sunday afternoon, strong to severe storms are expected to flare up along a cold front that will sweep across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast. Most of the action looks to be later in the afternoon and into the evening hours.
From Ohio to Connecticut — including nearly all of Pennsylvania — the Storm Prediction Center is watching the chance for severe thunderstorms.
Damaging winds remains the biggest concern, but small to moderate hail and an isolated tornado or two are also possible.
On Monday, the severe weather threat really ramps up in the Plains. Cities like Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kansas, are looking at an enhanced risk for widespread severe weather, mainly on Monday evening and into the overnight hours.
So far this year, severe weather reports are lagging slightly behind average, but the gap is closing after all the activity in the past week.
Tuesday brings another day of severe weather, with the focus shifting slightly eastward.
From Texas to Wisconsin, severe weather could cause trouble for millions in the Central U.S. Prior to storms firing up, temperatures will soar well above average across the western half of the country. This wave of warmth will stretch its way east over the weekend into early next week.
Daytime highs rising between 10 to 30 degrees above average — and possibly higher in some places — will impact a large swath of the nation over the next few days, with parts of the Plains seeing the biggest departures from normal.
Near record-high temperatures will be possible.
Cooler air will make its way back in over the Rockies Sunday into Monday, dragging temperatures back near and below average there.
Yet, conditions will remain unseasonably warm across the Central U.S. as the warm air spreads farther east, covering the eastern two-thirds of the country. Even though the Plains will still see the biggest departures Sunday into Monday, temperatures will still climb 10 to 15 degrees above normal across portions of the Mississippi River Valley through the Mid-Atlantic and the Carolinas. Temperatures will moderate a bit midweek, but will still remain on the warmer side of normal across the southern U.S., and east of the Mississippi River.
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(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) — Twenty-six barges broke loose and floated uncontrolled down the Ohio River Friday night, according to the Pittsburgh Public Safety Office.
The West End Bridge was closed in both directions and rail traffic was shut down on the rail bridge to Brunot Island due to the loose barges, before reopening on Saturday.
Of those that broke loose, 23 were loaded with dry cargo, such as coal, and three were empty. The barges are owned or operated by the Campbell Transportation Company.
There are no reported injuries, but Peggy’s Marina sustained extensive damage.
Of the barges, 11 were located and pinned against the river bank by Brunot Island, 14 continued down the river and six went over the Emsworth Dam.
The company that owns the barges told ABC affiliate WTAE in a statement that “the incident occurred under high water conditions on the rivers resulting in strong currents due to flooding in the area.”
(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.) — When Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, the former vice president of student affairs at Lincoln University in Missouri, died by suicide on Jan. 8, the tragedy brought attention to the difficulties and obstacles that many Black women report experiencing in higher education.
Candia-Bailey, who received a termination letter from the historically Black university on Jan. 3, had previously accused the school’s president, John Moseley, of bullying, harassment and discrimination.
“It was shocking,” Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, told “Nightline.” “And I think there was a lot of fear that if the experiences that Black women are going through are not being paid attention to, that they can have really devastating results.”Moseley was reinstated to his position last month after a third-party investigation found no evidence of substantiated bullying claims by the university president. He’d been on a voluntary paid administrative leave.
In a press release, the board of curators from the university said that an “exhaustive, independent investigation” found that “Dr. Candia-Bailey’s claims that she was bullied by President Moseley were unsubstantiated.”
The press release added, “Specifically, when directly asked in the course of this investigation, no witnesses reported that they had ever witnessed President Moseley engage in bullying – and all denied having ever personally felt bullied by President Moseley.”
ABC News attempted to contact the university but have not received a response.
In a statement, Moseley said “our thoughts and prayers have been and continue to be with Dr. Bailey’s family, friends, and our campus community.”
Moseley added, “There is not a lot I can say about the independent report and its findings, but I am grateful to the Board of Curators for their faith in me and their vote of confidence.”
Candia-Bailey’s loved ones are still grappling with the loss of the woman they affectionately called “Bonnie.”
“My confidence in the thoroughness of the investigation is zero,” said Omega Tillman, a close friend to Candia-Bailey. “Bonnie was not a person to mince words or, if she felt bullied, if she felt unheard, unseen, then that’s what it was. It’s frustrating.”
For 20 years, Candia-Bailey had worked to climb the professional ladder in academia. In 2016, she wrote a dissertation on the challenges that Black women face in academia.
Her dissertation is titled, “My Sister, Myself: The Identification of Sociocultural Factors that Affect the Advancement of African-American Women into Senior-Level Administrative Positions.”
“Attempts need to be addressed to look at how African American women can increase and advance in higher education,” Candia-Bailey wrote in the dissertation. “These factors also link to being treated like the help, the outsider within, keeping them away from the table.”
Candia-Bailey’s death brought shock and sadness, prompting social media videos showing Black women sharing their own frustrations and experiences.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women and other women of color face harsher evaluations at work due to harmful stereotypes. Inger Burnett-Zeigler, a clinical psychologist, studies how negative stereotypes affect the mental health of Black women. According to her, Black women are often stereotyped as “angry Black women, strong Black women, and hypersexual Black women.”
“The No. 1 thing that I believe Black women can do to protect their mental health is to establish very clear boundaries,” Burnett-Zeigler said. “Being a strong Black woman can come with taking on too much, feeling like you just can’t take it anymore and often we don’t recognize it until it’s gone too far,” she added.
Hannah-Jones said it is a concerning trend that despite being highly qualified for leadership positions, Black women are often subjected to intense scrutiny and criticism once they assume their roles.
“It’s a struggle to be respected, it’s a struggle to be heard. There’s so many obstacles, and often the higher you ascend, the lonelier it gets,” Hannah-Jones said.
Recent data from the American Association of University Professors reveals that Black women represent only 2.4 percent of tenured professors in colleges and universities nationwide.
“Tenure is the highest status that you can achieve at a university,” Hannah-Jones said. “So Black women get hired, but they aren’t getting tenure, and they aren’t being moved through that process.”
Amidst the tragedy, the next generation of black women academics are forging their own community and advocating for change.
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(BOISE, Id. ) — Librarians across the country say they’ve become targets in the ongoing battles over books – but the attacks have escalated beyond just calls to remove materials from library shelves.
Several librarians told ABC News they’re facing threats of physical violence, lawsuits and criminal charges for having what some say is “inappropriate” content in libraries and schools where children can access the materials.
“We had people threatening to burn down our building,” said Maegan Hanson, a library director in a small Idaho town.
Hanson’s library had a book on display called “Gender Queer,” a graphic novel by Maia Kobabe. It’s one of the most targeted books in the country because of its LGBTQ content and depictions of sex.
When parts of the book were posted to Facebook, Hanson said the library began receiving online threats. She said fear began to set in among the small crew who work at the library – some of whom are teens and young adults.
“We are in this service because we love the communities that we are a part of and the misinformation and the misrepresentation about what we do hasn’t stopped us from doing our jobs – it just makes it harder,” Hanson said.
The Idaho Library Association, which Hanson is a part of, is concerned that tensions and threats will only get worse now that Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed library content restrictions into law on Wednesday.
— Idaho Library Association (@Idaho_Libraries) April 10, 2024
House Bill 710 bars schools or public libraries from making materials available to children that are “harmful to minors,” “depict nudity, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse,” or include “detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse.”
The law states these books would need to be moved to an “adults only section,” and allows anyone to sue if schools and libraries don’t restrict access to books that are believed to be harmful to children.
“For children, libraries open doors to reading and intellectual exploration, helping them become lifelong learners. It’s no wonder the vast majority of Idahoans say they value libraries and trust librarians,” said Little in his letter after signing the law.
“I share the cosponsors’ desire to keep truly inappropriate library materials out of the hands of minors,” said Little, adding that he also has concerns about the content on minors’ cellphones.
Little vetoed previous efforts to restrict library content, saying past legislation would have forced libraries to shutter their doors by forcing them to pay $2,500 for damages if they made “obscene” materials accessible.
HB710 will make libraries pay $250, on top of other incurred fees or damages, if they violate the law. Little said he was moved to sign HB710 because it also allowed librarians to avoid legal action and fees if they addressed concerns about materials in a certain time frame.
In Little’s letter, he states that literacy is still a top priority for him: “Libraries play such a crucial role in helping our youngsters to read early on.”
For the small libraries of Idaho, directors say hundreds of dollars in lawsuits over books could come at the expense of some library resources and education programming – including early literacy programs, technology support, access to case workers and more.
Hanson’s library had a total operating income of $279,452 in 2021 for the year’s staffing and programming, according to the Idaho Commission for Libraries.
“We have a high poverty population in Idaho and various rural communities, so for these people who are lacking in resources, this content is important,” Hanson said.
Supporters of HB710 argue it’s just a book relocation policy and should not impact libraries that don’t have “inappropriate” content or properly move content out of sections for people under 18.
But some librarians fear that a plethora of material could fall victim to this definition of obscene content, including classical pieces of literature and other popular books, and lead to censorship.
“There’s absolutely going to be the chilling effect of people being so afraid of ordering or having any sort of book that could possibly offend somebody,” said Huda Shaltry, a library director in Boise, Idaho.
“A well-curated public library has something in it to offend everyone,” she said, explaining that having a diverse collection with a wide range of perspectives and subjects available to all is vital to a public library system that serves all.
“[Book restrictions are] very directed to the LGBTQIA+ community but, ultimately, you can make the argument that the Bible’s offensive. There goes the Bible,” Hanson said. “‘50 Shades of Grey,’ OK, it’s offensive. ‘Game of Thrones,’ it’s offensive. Where exactly does it stop? ‘Harry Potter,’ it’s offensive because it teaches witchcraft – It really impedes on people’s First Amendment rights.”
Several renowned, award-winning books have been added to banned books lists for being “offensive,” including “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and more, according to the American Library Association.
What some might find offensive, Shaltry and Hanson argue, could be helpful to someone else – be it about representation, sexuality, experience with abuse, or other topics, they say.
Shaltry, who says “being a librarian is a calling and not a career” for her, said critics have made hurtful claims and accusations about librarians for displaying content that may contain sex education or sexual content.
“I’m trying not to cry,” said Shaltry in an interview. “The words of being a pedophile and a groomer or stuff – I never thought that I would ever hear any of this stuff.”
Idaho librarians aren’t alone in their challenges – local reports show that libraries nationwide have received bomb threats, others say they’ve been fired for not removing certain books from shelves, and others have been defunded because of content and programming.
West Virginia libraries are also facing growing challenges.
If the state’s House Bill 4654 becomes law, employees could be charged with a felony, fined up to $25,000, and sentenced to up to five years in a correctional facility if found guilty of allowing a minor to access material that could be what the state considers to be “obscene.”
“What this bill does do is stop obscene and pornographic material, sexually explicit materials from being available to children in public taxpayer-funded spaces,” said State Delegate Elliott Pritt, a Republican, in a February hearing, according to The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
The president of the American Library Association has denounced such legislative efforts, calling it “organized censorship.”
“Falsely claiming that these works are subversive, immoral, or worse, these groups induce elected and non-elected officials to abandon constitutional principles, ignore the rule of law, and disregard individual rights to promote government censorship of library collections,” ALA said in a statement objecting to such restrictions.
(HONOLULU, Hi.) — One woman has died and 10 others were injured after a shuttle bus crashed into the transportation area outside a Honolulu cruise terminal Friday, according to police.
The ship, Carnival Miracle, was on a 15-day journey, departing Long Beach, California, on April 6, according to Carnival Cruise Line. Nine of the people hit by the vehicle were cruise ship passengers.
“Sadly, one guest has died from her injuries. She was traveling with her husband, who was also injured and is expected to recover. Members of the Carnival Care Team are assisting the guests. Our thoughts are with the guests affected and their loved ones,” Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement to ABC News.
A 57-year-old man was dropping off customers at pier 2 when a bystander told him that his vehicle was moving forward. He then jumped into the drivers seat, trying to stop the vehicle, but he accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brakes, colliding with two concrete barriers and eleven pedestrians, according to the Honolulu Police Department.
Five pedestrians were transported to the hospital — one of whom was later pronounced dead and four others are in good condition. Six other pedestrians refused treatment on the scene, police said.
According to police, speed does not appear to be a contributing factor in the collision and it is unknown if drugs or alcohol were contributing factors.
(NEW YORK) — Are we entering a “performance arms race” between internal combustion engine and electric sports cars?
Some engineers and top auto executives are beginning to question the superiority of electric sports cars, which have become a contentious topic among enthusiasts.
This week, Lawrence Stroll, executive chairman of Aston Martin, told reporters at the company’s U.K. headquarters that Aston is delaying its shift to electrics, focusing instead on plug-in hybrids.
“We are going to invest much more heavily in our PHEV program to be a bridge between full combustion and full electric,” Stroll said, according to Road & Track.
Stroll noted the “real lack of consumer demand” for electric sports cars. “We speak to our dealers, we speak to our customers — when you have a small network you can communicate easily. And everyone said we still want sound, we still want smell,” he said.
British marque McLaren, known for its seductive — and fear-inducing — supercars, recently launched its 750S coupe and spider, successors to its widely successful 720S. The brand has one hybrid on sale, the Artura, which launched in 2022. Customers, however, still demand the palpable acoustics of the raucous twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 positioned behind the driver’s seat. The 750S may be the epitome of internal combustion engine (ICE) ingenuity.
Chief engineer Sandy Holford said his team truly raised the bar on the 750S, making it the lightest and most powerful series production McLaren to date. “It offers more thrills, more power and more torque, as well as improved ergonomics and engagement,” Holford said.
The car’s stats are also mind-bending, even without an electric motor: zero to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds; 740 horsepower; 590 lb-ft of torque.
ABC News spoke to Holford about the push for electric sports cars and their limitations. The conversation below has been edited.
Q: We’re seeing more electric supercars and hypercars. Will the popularity of the 750S be short-lived as more automakers build all-electric sports cars?
A: In the performance figures arms race, there’s going to come a point where physics gets in the way. And you can have all the power in the world but if you can’t make the rubber stick when you pull away, it’s not going to help you. It all depends on what the customers want. You can do naught to 60 mph in an insane time, but you can only do half a lap at pace because of the battery pack. There’s a balance to be had — for us that’s road use and track use for the 750S. This car is a different proposition to an EV car.
For people who are thinking about the 750S, get out and try it. We can write about it, we can talk about it, but the proof is in the pudding and getting behind the wheel. It’s about trying to be the ultimate engagement car for people.
Q: How long have you been working on the 750S?
A: The 750S development was around two years plus some small amount of refining time at the end, just really validating everything we tested through the development program and real-world customer situation driving.
Q: You benchmarked the 750S against its predecessor, the 720S. What was your objective with this car?
A: The 720S was revolutionary in its time — from an aerodynamic development point of view but also from a dynamic performance. The target for us was to understand where we can push this further but also to really make this car a driver-centric vehicle. How could we focus on engagement and a sense of connection to the car — from the way the car responds to you in terms of pedal mapping and gear shifts maps — to the audio and sound effect of the exhaust.
We moved everything around the cabin to be really focused on where the driver is sitting. Every switch that is commonly used has been moved closer to the steering wheel.
The challenge was to stretch the top end of performance for the 750S without losing any of the comfort and everyday usability. We moved switches and controls to a place that didn’t exist in the previous car. For example, putting a dedicated switch for the car’s nose lift is one of the pieces of feedback we had. The stalk was harder to find in the 720S. The nose lift is now twice as fast.
All of our cars are designed to be drivers’ cars; however, we continue to evaluate and improve based off customer feedback and our own benchmarking.
Q: Racing is at the heart of all McLaren cars. Is this the closest owners will get to driving an F1 car?
A: From a McLaren point of view – no. This is a road car that can be taken on the track. Our Ultimate Product Offering is usually closer to a racing vehicle – like a Senna GTR.
Q: Does the 750S mimic anything that professional drivers experience?
A: We take a lot of cues from our racing colleagues in terms of the way we develop: Our phrase is: “Fail fast, iterate and go again.”
The thing about the 750S is the breadth of capability it has. The car will look after you [on a track]. As you gain confidence in it, you can gradually turn things up, you can turn things off. You can get into variable drift control.
Q: Why was it important for drivers to feel engaged at speeds under 40 mph?
A: With the improvements in technology we have, some vehicles can feel really slow at high speeds. And it’s really easy to let your speed drift up in a high-performance car because it handles so well.
It was really important to me that customers could experience that real engagement and that sense of exhilaration under [lesser] speeds. You don’t want to have a car that only feels fast at 150 mph on a track.
Lots of our customers will use that car on a track but not all of our customers will. I still wanted customers to feel like they have an engaging supercar.
(BRENHAM, Texas) — One person was killed and more than a dozen injured after a man allegedly intentionally crashed a stolen semi-truck into a Texas Department of Public Safety office in Brenham on Friday, officials said.
A suspect is in custody, authorities said.
“This is a tragic day for us,” Texas DPS Regional Director Gerald Brown told reporters during a press briefing Friday.
The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. local time, when the driver rammed a stolen 18-wheeler into a Texas DPS driver’s license office, Brown said.
The suspect — identified by authorities as Clenard Parker, 42 — had been informed by the office on Thursday that he was not eligible to renew his commercial driver’s license, authorities said.
The suspect then “returned today with intent to harm,” Washington County Judge Mark Keough said in a statement on social media.
Six people were transported to area hospitals, one of whom died from their injuries at the hospital, authorities said. Eight victims were treated at the scene and released.
The victims were all inside the building at the time of the crash. It is unclear how many were civilians, authorities said.
Footage from the scene showed extensive damage to the Texas DPS office.
The Texas Rangers are investigating and there is no further threat to the community, Texas DPS said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(HOUSTON) — A Texas mother has been arrested after allegedly leaving her two young children home alone for days to go on a cruise, court records show.
Lakesha Williams, 29, of Houston, has been charged with abandoning a child with intent to return, a felony, according to a criminal complaint.
Neighbors at her high-rise apartment building reportedly saw Williams leave with luggage on April 4 but “never saw her return,” according to the complaint.
A woman at the apartment complex reached out to law enforcement to request a wellness check because the neighbors were worried about the children’s safety, according to the complaint.
Deputies conducted a welfare check on Tuesday, five days after Williams allegedly left, and found an 8-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl alone in the apartment, the complaint stated. The apartment was in “complete disarray,” with trash and food strewn about and a “very potent smell of urine,” the complaint stated.
The children reportedly told police that their mother left them on April 4 “to go on vacation on a cruise and they did not know when she would return,” the complaint stated.
It did not appear that any adults had been supervising the children since then, according to the complaint. Williams allegedly used a video camera to watch and talk to the children during that time, and the boy had a phone he was using to text her, according to the complaint.
“These children were definitely left unattended for many days and put in serious harm’s way,” Keegan Childers, the chief prosecutor of the 209th District Court, told Houston ABC station KTRK.
A Child Protective Services agent responded to the scene to ensure the children were in good health and they were released into the custody of their aunt, according to the complaint.
Deputies tried contacting Williams to have her respond to the scene “but she was not cooperating and was switching up her story on her whereabouts,” the complaint stated.
Williams was arrested on Thursday and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, online court records show. The records do not list any attorney information for her.
ABC News was unable to reach the aunt for comment. She declined to comment to KTRK.
(MORGANTOWN, W.Va.) — When 16-year-old Skylar Neese went missing from her West Virginia home after midnight on July 6, 2012, two of her best friends took to social media to express their fears and hopes that Skylar could be alive.
But months later, investigators would find out that Rachel Shoaf and Shelia Eddy were hiding a sinister, deadly plot behind their posts and were ultimately responsible for Neese’s death.
“We asked Rachel, ‘Why did you guys kill Skylar?’ And her only answer to that was, ‘We just didn’t like her,'” State Police Cpl. Ronnie Gaskins told “20/20.”
An all-new “20/20” episode airing Friday, April 12, at 9 p.m. and streaming on Hulu the next day explores the case with fresh insight from investigators, a group of journalists who profiled the murder in a new podcast “Three,” and others.
The three high school sophomores, who lived near Morgantown, West Virginia, used to be inseparable, according to Neese’s parents.
Neese and the two other girls had their ups and downs; around the time of Neese’s disappearance, the three had been feuding, according to investigators.
In the days leading up to her death, Neese’s Twitter account showed that something had gone awry.
On July 4, 2012, two days before she was murdered, Neese tweeted, “It really doesn’t take much to p— me off,” and, “Sick of being at f—— home. Thanks ‘friends,’ love hanging out with you all too.”
The day before she was killed, Neese tweeted, “you doing s— like that is why I can NEVER completely trust you.”
After Neese went missing, Eddy told Neese’s mother that she, Neese and Shoaf had been driving around town that night getting high before Neese went missing. Eddy claimed she and Shoaf had dropped Neese off at the end of the road from her apartment building so that Neese could sneak back in.
The two girls told investigators they picked up Neese at 11 p.m. the night she went missing.
Eddy posted regularly on Twitter about her thoughts and day-to-day activities as authorities searched for her “missing” friend. Eddy also posted about her friendship with Shoaf.
But as the investigation into Neese’s disappearance continued, with the FBI ultimately getting involved, suspicion mounted that the girls were harboring a secret.
Upon a review of surveillance video that showed Neese being picked up by a car at 12:30 a.m. the night of her disappearance, law enforcement realized that the victim’s two friends lied in their original statements to police.
Video footage from a nearby convenience store as well as cell phone records confirmed holes in the two friends’ story. Investigators said they knew they had lied, but had no idea what they were hiding or why.
Suspicions mounted and the community was divided in their support of Shoaf and Eddy’s claims.
A few months after Neese’s disappearance, Shoaf suffered a nervous breakdown following weeks of probing by investigators. On Jan. 3, 2013, she confessed to investigators that she and Eddy had stabbed Neese to death.
Judge Perri Jo DeChristopher, who helped investigate the case when she was an assistant prosecutor, told “20/20” that her office was skeptical about Shoaf’s confession.
“If one co-conspirator gives a statement against another co-conspirator, you really have to use it as a starting point to corroborate the facts,” she said.
However, Shoaf gave information that led authorities to Neese’s remains, which were found in a wooded area over the Pennsylvania state line, about 20 miles from Star City, West Virginia.
During her January 2013 confession, Shoaf had told authorities how she says she and Eddy had planned Neese’s murder.
The plan was to pick up Neese from her house at night and drive to a remote area to smoke marijuana. Once they were in the woods, Shoaf said the plan was to count to three, then stab Neese to death. Authorities say that Neese was found with over 50 stab wounds.
Attempts were made by investigators to get Eddy to incriminate herself, including having Shoaf wear a wire, but they were unsuccessful.
Eventually, investigators conducted a search warrant of Eddy’s house and confiscated her computer, phone, and tablet, knives from the kitchen and a car from the residence — a Toyota Camry.
An FBI analysis of the car found Neese’s blood DNA in the trunk of the vehicle. On May 1, 2013, Eddy was arrested in a restaurant parking lot. Both teens were charged with murder as adults.
Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for her role in the killing.
On Jan. 24, 2014, roughly 18 months after Neese’s death, she was sentenced to life in prison.
Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, a lesser charge based on her cooperation with authorities, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison the following month.
Only Shoaf apologized to Neese’s parents during her plea deal.
“[Eddy]’s not sorry,” David Neese told “20/20” in a previous interview. “You don’t apologize for murdering somebody in cold blood because she meant to do it.”
Shoaf was denied parole last year.
Neese’s family, friends and others from the town said they are still numb from the wound left by her murder.
“Nobody wins. Skyler isn’t around, the two girls are in jail, the two girls’ parents are living through this, and Morgantown still is ripped apart because of this situation,” Tom Bloom, a former guidance counselor at the girls’ high school, told “20/20.”
(NEW YORK) — Heavy rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds are moving through the Northeast on Friday as a major storm system lifts into Canada.
The storm system previously brought 11 confirmed tornadoes across six states — Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and North Carolina. The worst of the rain is over for the Interstate 95 corridor with just showers on and off into the afternoon.
Behind this storm, a wind advisory has been issued from Maine to Georgia, with gusts near 50 mph for some areas Friday. There are flood and wind alerts for the eastern U.S. from the Great Lakes to the Carolinas and up to Maine.
Gusty winds are expected Friday afternoon and some higher elevations in New England could see gusts up to 55 mph. Gusty winds will last into Saturday. An EF-1 tornado with winds up to 100 mph caused damage Thursday near St. Augustine, Florida.
In addition to tornadoes, there have been 77 damaging storm reports from Florida to West Virginia in the last 24 hours. Wind gusts were reported to be 58 to 68 mph in North Carolina and Virginia.
A flash flood emergency was issued Thursday evening just west of Pittsburgh, where nearly 4 inches of rain fell in a matter of hours. Numerous water rescues were reported in Pittsburgh metro area Thursday night.
Officially, Pittsburgh, is having the wettest start to any month on record. In the last 11 days, the city has seen more than 7 inches of rain.
In Charleston, South Carolina, dozens of roads closed downtown due to flooding on Thursday. The city had record daily rainfall of 3.23 inches.
