Strong thunderstorms swept across the U.S. Great Plains to the Mid-Atlantic states Thursday, and an Indianapolis boy struck by lightning was killed.
Oklahoma City, Dallas, Little Rock, Ark.; Nashville, Tenn.; Shreveport, La.; Pittsburgh, Roanoke, Va., and Charlotte, N.C. were all hit by powerful storms, the National Weather Service reported.
Airlines reported flight delays of more than an hour in many cities.
Storms packing winds of up to 70 mph dumped six inches of rain on Dallas County, Texas, toppling trees causing widespread power outages, The Dallas Morning News reported.
More than 4,000 customers were without electrical power in northeast Kansas and golf-ball-size hail was reported near Kansas City, Mo., The Kansas City Star said.
Basements flooded near Salt Lake City, The Salt Lake Tribune said.
A second powerful storm system inundated Nebraska’s panhandle with 2 inches of rain and hail, NWS said.
The severe weather could produce tornadoes, especially in the Plains, AccuWeather.com said.
The dead boy in Indianapolis was 10-year-old Jeremiah Miller, who had been camping and was walking with his father to their car when he was struck by lightning, police said.
The lightning strike occurred during a thunderstorm that dropped more than 2 inches of rain, The Indianapolis Star reported.
© 2009 UPI. Displayed by permission. All rights reserved.
