无情的、威胁生命的天气状况在多个州持续到周日，包括田纳西州的孟菲斯和阿肯色州的小石城的严重洪水威胁，以及路易斯安那州、阿拉巴马州、佐治亚州和佛罗里达州的龙卷风警戒。
自周三以来，至少有18人在恶劣天气的爆发中死亡，包括肯塔基州的一名9岁男孩，他在走向公共汽车站时被洪水冲走，以及田纳西州西南部的几个人在强烈的EF-3龙卷风席卷塞尔默市后丧生。
阿肯色州应急管理部确认的该州第一例与风暴有关的死亡——一名5岁的儿童在小石城西南部的一所房子里被发现。该机构没有提供孩子死亡的任何其他细节，但表示这与“阿肯色州持续的恶劣天气”有关
根据博福特-莱斯利消防保护区和密苏里州高速公路巡逻队的事故报告，在密苏里州，一名16岁的消防员在报道的水上救援中丧生于圣路易斯以西约60英里的博福特的一场车祸中。
这位消防队员被确认为切维·高尔。
“今晚是消防队长最糟糕的噩梦，”博福特-莱斯利消防区长特里·费斯在周五的一份声明中说。"我们为失去一个自己人而心碎。"
本周早些时候，密苏里州当局表示，另一名当地消防队长，68岁的加里·摩尔周三在帮助一名被困司机时死亡。摩尔是白水消防保护区的负责人。
总的来说，死亡人数在田纳西州为10人，密苏里州3人，肯塔基州2人，印第安纳州、阿肯色州和密西西比州各1人。
密西西比州州长泰特·里维斯宣布的周日在社交媒体上，他所在的州发生了一起与风暴相关的死亡事件，并表示密西西比州的14个县都报告了损失。
“不幸的是，贾斯珀县报道了一起死亡事件。此外，据报在Pontotoc县有一人受伤。请为这些密西西比人和他们的家人祈祷，”里维斯说。
过去四天，该系统在南部和中西部的部分地区几乎静止不动，带来了一系列威胁生命的天气条件，周日下午，该系统开始移动，向东穿过东南部，并带来了从墨西哥湾北部海岸到阿巴拉契亚南部的暴雨和雷暴。
虽然周日的恶劣天气和山洪威胁比前几天低得多，但随着不稳定的天气向东席卷，一些强到严重的雷暴仍然可能持续到下午。
阿拉巴马州、乔治亚州和佛罗里达州狭长地带的部分地区在周日下午发布了龙卷风警报，预测有破坏性的阵风，并可能出现孤立的短暂龙卷风。
周六预计是持续多日的高影响洪水事件的最后一天造成了巨大的破坏横跨密西西比河下游和中游的部分地区，仍然处于洪水的高风险之下。
截至周日，从阿肯色州到印第安纳州，至少有18个河流水位处于大洪水阶段。预计本周中南部和中西部将有多达50个河流水位达到大洪水水位。
周日早上的洪水警报从路易斯安那州延伸到宾夕法尼亚州西部，包括亚特兰大、纳什维尔、孟菲斯、伯明翰、路易斯维尔、辛辛那提和匹兹堡等主要城市。
暴雨预计将在周日向东移动，最大的威胁是阿拉巴马州和乔治亚州，包括亚特兰大和伯明翰。在当地，超过5英寸的降雨可能会在南部持续到周一。
自周五以来，最高降雨量出现在东孟菲斯，降雨量超过14英寸。在孟菲斯国际机场，记录的降雨量超过12英寸，该市在周六记录了有史以来最潮湿的4月，降雨量为5.47英寸。
截至周六晚上，田纳西州的孟菲斯仍然处于山洪爆发的紧急状态，因为最新一轮的暴雨继续在周六下午横扫中南部的部分地区。
周日上午，田纳西州紧急事务管理局表示，该州仍在应对恶劣天气威胁，特别是在田纳西州西南部。
“多波重大恶劣天气和灾难性洪水将持续到周日上午。田纳西州西南部风暴预测中心发布了中度恶劣天气的风险，可能会有严重的强龙卷风和超过每小时75英里的破坏性大风。TEMA在一份声明中说:“太阳下山后，严重的威胁就会减弱。”。
TEMA在一份声明中说，田纳西州在风暴中丧生的人中有一名卡罗尔县电力部门的线路工，“他在最近的风暴中工作时丧生”。该机构确认这名线路工是吉斯·卡尔顿。
国家气象局表示，这是一个特别危险的情况，威胁生命的山洪爆发是预料之中的。山洪暴发紧急情况是NWS针对山洪暴发威胁发布的最高级别警报。
在阿肯色州，过去几天的降雨量高达一英尺，相当于三个月的降雨量。
到周六晚上，早些时候为小石城地区发布的山洪爆发紧急情况被取消，最严重的暴雨已经结束。然而，该地区的大洪水仍在继续。
阿肯色州东北部的另一次山洪爆发紧急情况，包括切诺基村和哈迪镇，也被取消。周六早些时候，应急管理官员向国家气象局报告说，该地区正在进行多次水上救援，包括劳伦斯和夏普县的部分地区。
根据州应急管理官员的说法，阿肯色州的初步损失报告包括道路洪水、倒下的树木和电线、水上救援以及韦恩市附近可能发生的龙卷风造成的损失。国家气象局还没有确认龙卷风。
尽管随着静止锋缓慢向东推进，周末期间严重风暴的威胁将逐渐减轻，但在已经遭受龙卷风和危及生命的洪水袭击的地区，更不稳定的天气将继续爆发。
截至周日，从堪萨斯州到俄亥俄州，至少10个州报告了90多起龙卷风。
周日早上，包括伯明翰和亚特兰大外围在内的地区发出了龙卷风警报。严重的雷暴可能会产生龙卷风和破坏性的直线风，从路易斯安那州南部到阿拉巴马州和乔治亚州。
周一，严重的风险转移到佛罗里达州北部、乔治亚州和南卡罗来纳州。破坏性的风将是最大的威胁，但不能排除孤立的龙卷风。
随着该系统开始向东移动，恶劣天气和过量降雨的威胁将在周日缓解。然而，田纳西和俄亥俄河流域的部分地区在周一锋面边界完全移出该地区之前可能会再有3到6英寸的降雨。
东南部部分地区面临轻微的恶劣天气风险(5级中的2级)，预计风暴将产生破坏性的大风、冰雹和孤立的龙卷风。
因此，雷暴产生的强降雨(速率可能达到每小时2到3英寸)可能会在易发地区引起山洪暴发。佐治亚州和阿拉巴马州的大部分地区，以及佛罗里达州狭长地带、密西西比州南部和路易斯安那州东南部的部分地区都有轻微的洪水风险。
18 dead as significant severe weather, flash flooding tear through parts of US
Relentless, life-threatening weather conditions continued into Sunday across multiple states, including the threat of severe flooding in Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock, Arkansas, and tornado watches in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
Since Wednesday, at least 18 people have died amid the outbreak of severe weather, including a 9-year-old boy in Kentucky who was swept away by floodwaters as he walked to a bus stop, and several people killed in southwestern Tennessee after a strong EF-3 tornado ripped through the city of Selmer.
The Arkansas Division of Emergency Managementconfirmedthe state's first storm-related death -- a 5-year-old child found in a home in southwest Little Rock. The agency did not provide any other details of the child's death but said it was related "to the ongoing severe weather in Arkansas."
In Missouri, a 16-year-old firefighter responding to a reported water rescue, died in a vehicle crash on Friday in Beaufort, about 60 miles west of St. Louis, according to the Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District and a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.
The firefighter was identified as Chevy Gall.
"Tonight is a fire chief's worst nightmare," Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District Chief Terry Feth said in a statement on Friday. "We are heartbroken by the loss of one of our own."
Earlier this week, authorities in Missouri said another local fire chief, 68-year-old Garry Moore, died while helping a stranded driver on Wednesday. Moore was the chief of the Whitewater Fire Protection District.
Overall, the death toll stands at 10 in Tennessee, three in Missouri, two in Kentucky, and one each in Indiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reevesannouncedon social media Sunday the one storm-related death in his state and said damage has been reported in 14 Mississippi counties.
"Tragically, one fatality was reported in Jasper County. Additionally, one injury was reported in Pontotoc County. Please pray for these Mississippians and their families," Reeves said.
The system that’s been nearly stationary over parts of the South and Midwest over the past four days, bringing a relentless stretch of life-threatening weather conditions, was on the move Sunday afternoon, heading eastward across the Southeast and bringing with it heavy rain and thunderstorms from the northern Gulf Coast up into southern Appalachia.
While the severe weather and flash-flood threat on Sunday was much lower than in previous days, a few strong to severe thunderstorms remain possible into the afternoon as the unsettled weather sweeps east.
A tornado watch was issued for portions of Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle into Sunday afternoon, with damaging wind gusts forecast along with the possibility of isolated brief tornadoes.
Saturday was expected to the final day of a multi-day high-impact flood event thathas wreaked havocacross portions of the Lower and Mid-Mississippi River Valley, which remains under a high risk for flooding. ·
As of Sunday, at least 18 river gauges were in major flooding stage from Arkansas to Indiana. Up to 50 river gauges are expected to reach major flood stage in the Mid-South and the Midwest this week.
Sunday morning flood alerts stretched from Louisiana to western Pennsylvania, including major cities such as Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, Louisville, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
The heavy rain was forecast to move east through Sunday, with the highest threat for flash flooding in Alabama and Georgia including Atlanta and Birmingham. Locally, more than 5 inches of rain is possible in the South through into Monday.
Since Friday, the highest rainfall total was reported in East Memphis where more than 14 inches of rain fell. At Memphis International Airport, more than 12 inches of rain was recorded, with the city recording its wettest-ever April day on Saturday with 5.47 inches of rain.
As of Saturday evening, Memphis, Tennessee, remained under a flash flood emergency as the latest round of torrential rain continued to sweep east across parts of the mid-South Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday morning, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said the state was still dealing with severe weather threats, especially in southwest Tennessee.
"Multiple waves of significant severe weather and catastrophic flooding will continue through Sunday morning. A moderate risk of severe weather has been issued by the Storm Prediction Center for southwest Tennessee with the possibility of significant strong tornadoes and damaging winds exceeding 75 mph. The severe threat should diminish after sundown," TEMA said in a statement.
Among those in Tennessee who perished in the storm was a lineman with the Carroll County Electric Department, "who lost his life while working during the recent storms," TEMA said in a statement. The agency identified the lineman as Chance Carlton.
The National Weather Service said it was a particularly dangerous situation and life-threatening flash flooding was expected. A flash flood emergency is the highest-level alert that the NWS issues for a flash flood threat.
In Arkansas over the past few days, up to a foot of rain has fallen, equal to about three months' worth of rain.
By Saturday evening, a flash flood emergency issued earlier for the Little Rock area was canceled and the worst of the heavy rain was over there. However, major flash flooding continued in the region.
Another flash flood emergency in northeastern Arkansas, including the towns of Cherokee Village and Hardy, was also canceled. Earlier Saturday, emergency management officials have relayed to the National Weather Service that multiple water rescues were ongoing in the area, which includes portions of Lawrence and Sharp counties.
According to state emergency management officials, preliminary damage reports in Arkansas included flooding on roadways, downed trees and power lines, water rescues and damage from a possible tornado near the city of Wynne. The National Weather Service has not yet confirmed the tornado.
Even though the threat of severe storms will gradually lessen over the weekend as the stationary front slowly pushes east, more unsettled weather will continue to erupt over the areas already hit hard by tornados and life-threatening flooding.
As of Sunday, more than 90 tornadoes had been reported in at least 10 states, from Kansas to Ohio.
Sunday morning brought tornado warnings for areas including Birmingham and just outside of Atlanta. Severe thunderstorms could produce tornadoes and damaging straight-line winds today from southern Louisiana into Alabama and Georgia.
On Monday, the severe risk moves into northern Florida, Georgia and into South Carolina. Damaging winds will be the biggest threat but an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.
The threat of severe weather and excessive rainfall will ease on Sunday as this system begins to slide eastward. However, parts of the Tennessee and Ohio River Valley could see another 3 to 6 inches of rain before this frontal boundary completely moves out of the region by Monday.
Parts of the Southeast were under a slight risk (level 2 of 5) for severe weather, where storms were expected to generate damaging winds, hail and isolated tornadoes.
With that, thunderstorms generating heavy rainfall (with rates potentially reaching 2 to 3 inches per hour) could cause flash flooding in prone areas. A good portion of Georgia and Alabama, as well as parts of the Florida Panhandle, southern Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana were under a slight risk for flooding.
