A major storm that has been battering the southeastern United States now stretches 1,000 miles from Texas to Iowa and Ohio leaving four people are dead and two others are missing.
The deaths came after heavy rains and flooding washed away a bridge in Southeast Indiana early on Friday morning.
The incident happens in the tiny township of Laurel, Indiana, which is about halfway between Indianapolis and Cincinnati.
There were at least two reports of tornadoes touching down in Texas which led to several reports of damage to property and snapped trees in a number of states including Arkansas, Illinois and Oklahoma.
After the storm passed, a cold front saw blizzard conditions with heavy snow in Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming.
Thousands of people remain without power after severe thunderstorms roared through Ohio, causing flooding and knocking down trees across the state
A weather map show storms racing across the state of Ohio leaving flooding and destruction in their wake
In Indiana, emergency services initially found one car in the water followed by a second one a short time later.
‘As the water receded, we discovered that they hadn’t actually been swept off the roadway – the bridge had washed out,’ Capt. Jet Quillen, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said to Weather.com.
Four bodies were found but two more are still missing.
‘The creek where this occurred, the water levels have dropped significantly, which is aiding in the search, but it is a little bit of rough terrain in the area,’ Quillen said.
The area had received 2.54 inches of rain since Wednesday, and 0.8 inches alone on Friday morning.
A car and van navigate high water as they drive in Grove City, Ohio. Overnight rains caused flooding along roads across central Ohio. About three inches of rain fell overnight at John Glenn International Airport in Columbus, according to the NWS
A car is submerged along a road in Galloway Ohio. The storms that struck late Thursday and early Friday contained heavy rains and strong, gusty winds
Boys skip stones into a flooded bike path along Big Walnut Creek near Creekside in Gahanna, Ohio, on Friday. The state experienced widespread flooding as a result of storms that have been passing through the area
Backyards are flooded in the town of Clintonville, Ohio. The storms that struck late Thursday and early Friday contained heavy rains and strong, gusty winds
A car sits in high in Grove City, Ohio. Storm that battered the west now stretch 1,000 miles from Texas to Ohio as it moves towards the northeast bringing strong winds and heavy rain
Storm clouds drop rain showers as they pass over downtown Kansas City, Missouri
In Kansas and Ohio there was flash flooding along with 3 to 4 inches of rain.
Flash flooding has been an issue in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio with dozens of flood warnings and watches in place.
The storm, which has been hitting the Upper Midwest from Wisconsin to Northern Michigan with significant snowfall.
The cold front is expected to continue to move into the deep South on Friday night complete with heavy rain, hail and damaging winds.
The rest of the storm system will be moving towards the northeast by Saturday morning with once again, a risk of strong winds, hail and the possible risk of tornados.
The could also be some additional flooding and heavy rain in some areas in the South.
Verna Doan speaks with a well-wisher as family members continue to clean the yard behind the home she shares with her husband Gary in the Mulberry Canyon area about 20 miles west of Abilene, Texas
Cody Carson carries a basketball he found amid the toppled trees on his property on FM 126 about 17 miles west of Abilene. A tornado had swept through in the early morning hours, destroying a pool house and the roof of Carson’s home
Tin roofing hangs from the oak trees surrounding Gary and Verna Doan’s home in the Mulberry Canyon area about 20 miles west of Abilene, Texas. The Doan’s property was damaged by Thursday’s tornado
Gary Doan steps into the tree-shaped dent in one of his pickups to retrieve ammunition from the ruined vehicle’s center console. The pickup had been damaged by Thursday’s tornado
Earlier this week several tornadoes hit towns in Texas, flipping cars and damaging homes.
The National Weather Service confirmed at least two tornadoes hit the Abilene area, west of Dallas, while another tornado later hit near the town of Alvord, 150 miles north.
While no fatalities were reported at either location, the damage was clear in Abilene, where where a van and SUV were seen stacked atop other vehicles in a parking lot on Thursday morning.
The tornado also ripped the roof off one home, according to Fox 4.
Meanwhile, aerial footage from Alvord showed the area scattered with debris and downed trees.
Volunteers were helping to clear roads, with a local judge telling the publication that residents were trying to grapple with the mess while simultaneously dealing with the coronavirus crisis.
‘Through our spirit of community and our love for our neighbors, we will recover from this storm while we manage and overcome our current public health emergency,’ they stated.
A van and an SUV are stacked atop other vehicles in the parking lot of the French Robertson Unit outside of Abilene, Texas. Tornadoes from an early morning thunderstorm wreaked havoc from Tye to the prison, destroying buildings and livestock
Marshal Mepps stands atop a pallet of supplies inside the remains of Randall Franke’s workshop near Abilene, Texas. Danny Lewis, Franke’s brother-in-law, watches. The National Weather Service confirmed at least two tornadoes in the Abilene area
Randall Franke drives through runoff after inspecting another property on FM 1082 which had been struck in a storm Thursday, March 19, 2020. At least three tornadoes were confirmed to have swept through the Abilene, Texas
Despite being the official first day of spring several inches of snow fell in Boulder, Colorado
Offutt Air Force Base, which is home of the US Strategic Command, evacuated all planes amid the threat of severe lightning and thunderstorms
Meanwhile, in the eastern part of Nebraska, Offutt Air Force Base, which is home of the US Strategic Command, evacuated all planes amid the threat of severe lightning and thunderstorms.
According to The Drive, the ‘fleet of strategic surveillance and command and control aircraft is extremely vulnerable to extreme weather as most sit on the ramp in the open.’
The planes have been moved further south for the foreseeable future.
The Air Force is keeping extra vigilant about the weather threat, after a flood at Offutt caused nearly $1 billion of damage last year.