Wet and unwelcome, Fred spawns twisters and flooding in US

Tropical Storm Fred weakened to a slump and spawned respective evident tornadoes successful Georgia and North Carolina connected Tuesday arsenic it dumped dense rains into the Appalachian mountains on a way that could origin flash floods arsenic acold northbound arsenic upstate New York.

One decease was reported — a Las Vegas antheral whose car hydroplaned adjacent Panama City, Florida, Monday nighttime and overturned into a water-filled ditch, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Fewer than 30,000 customers were without powerfulness successful Florida and Georgia aft the tempest crashed ashore precocious Monday day adjacent Cape San Blas successful the Florida Panhandle. Emergency crews were repairing downed powerfulness lines and clearing toppled trees successful Fred's aftermath. Some schools and colleges successful Florida, Alabama and Georgia cancelled Tuesday's in-person classes owed to the storm.

The National Hurricane Center said Fred had apical sustained winds of 35 mph (56 kph) arsenic it crossed southeast Alabama into occidental and northbound Georgia. Senior hurricane specializer Stacy Stewart said Tuesday that it could dump 5 to 7 inches (13-18 centimeters) of rainfall into parts of Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas — and perchance up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rainfall successful isolated spots, causing flash flooding successful mountainous areas.

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Clay Chaney, a meteorologist with National Weather Service, said a section occurrence main successful North Carolina told the bureau a tornado was connected the crushed successful bluish Iredell County astir 12:47 p.m. The upwind work was besides looking into reports of a tornado hitting Alexander County.

Parts of occidental North Carolina, already soaked by rainfall not straight associated with Fred, braced for much rainfall done aboriginal Wednesday. Transylvania County, southbound of Asheville, declared a authorities of exigency aft 10 inches (25 centimeters) fell Monday, causing landslides, flooding roads and destroying astatine slightest 1 home.

Transylvania County Chairman Jason Chappell, a lifelong resident, said it was the astir aggravated flooding he’s seen successful astatine slightest 20 years, and that helium fears much harm to come. Floodwaters swamped a section mill Monday with respective inches of h2o and damaged its parking lot.

“It truly caught everyone disconnected guard,” Chappell said. “No 1 was forecasting that magnitude of rain.”

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With Fred blowing successful Tuesday, National Weather Service meteorologist Ashley Pratt said Haywood, Transylvania and Jackson counties are apt to get the astir rain, including different 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters) successful Transylvania.

One of the region’s large attractions, Grandfather Mountain State Park, closed connected Monday. The North Carolina authorities park’s website said “trails are flooded and the h2o astatine watercourse crossings (is) dangerously high.”

At slightest 3 evident tornadoes touched down successful Georgia: One deed Americus, successful the southwestern portion of the state, 1 deed a agrarian country of Meriwether County, betwixt Atlanta and Columbus, and 1 deed Jeffersonville, adjacent Macon, according to the National Weather Service.

The tempest deed Americus astir 1:30 a.m., knocking implicit trees, with immoderate falling connected houses, and downing powerfulness lines, WRBL-TV reported.

An Academy Sports warehouse adjacent Jeffersonville was deed by different apt tornado earlier 6 a.m., with metallic siding torn disconnected the building, a semi motortruck trailer tipped implicit and Twiggs County Sheriff Darren Mitchum telling WMAZ-TV that 8 boats were scattered astir by the storm. Weather officials warned of a tornado successful the Jeffersonville country arsenic well.

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Heavy rains drenched parts of metro Atlanta conscionable earlier dawn Tuesday, snarling commutes.

Meanwhile, reconnaissance craft recovered Grace regained tropical cyclone spot aboriginal Tuesday. Grace lashed earthquake-damaged Haiti arsenic a tropical slump connected Monday, dumping up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rainfall that pelted radical huddling nether improvised shelters successful the aftermath of Saturday's 7.2 magnitude earthquake, present blamed for much than 1,400 deaths.

Grace's sustained winds grew to 45 mph (75 kph) arsenic it near Haiti connected a westward way betwixt southeastern Cuba and Jamaica. Forecasters said it could beryllium adjacent hurricane spot arsenic it approaches Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula precocious Wednesday oregon aboriginal Thursday.

Tropical Storm Henri, meanwhile, was astir 135 miles (215 kilometers) south-southeast of Bermuda. The tiny tropical cyclone had 50 mph (80 kph) winds and was expected to ellipse wide astir the island, the hurricane halfway said.

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