MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Overnight storms blew through the Mid-South that caused minimal damage to the Memphis metro area, but carved a path of destruction through parts of West Tennessee and Arkansas.
Flooding was a big issue in Memphis. A portion of the underpass on Winchester near the airport was blocked off; at least one vehicle had to be pulled out. Other roadways, like Millbranch, were flooded, leaving several cars stranded.
A large tree fell at the intersection of Highland and Poplar, but has since been removed.
Besides downed trees and flash flooding, the storms also knocked out power for thousands of MLGW customers. At the height of the storm, more than 17,000 MLGW customers were without power. Nearly all of the outages had been restored by midday Wednesday, but the outage did force Hillcrest High School to dismiss at 11:30 a.m.
McNairy County did report several instances of storm damage, mainly from downed trees into homes and vehicles as the result of possible tornadoes. One building was destroyed in Bethel Springs, and multiple natural gas leaks were reported throughout the town. The National Weather Service reported several people trapped in homes and vehicles due to downed trees and impassable roadways, but no injuries have been confirmed. McNairy County Schools were closed Wednesday.
The NWS is also working to determine if a tornado was responsible for extensive damage in Hardeman County, where several buildings were destroyed in Toone and multiple damages reported in Bolivar.
However, damage was reported in nearly every corner of Arkansas. Entergy Arkansas has nearly 10,000 homes and businesses without power, with most of the outages coming in Jefferson, Pulaski and Union counties.
The National Weather Service says it will survey damage in southeast Arkansas to determine if a tornado touched down. Monticello police say one person was injured when lightning struck a home around 9 p.m.
