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Storms will drench the Northeast before the weather finally warms up

Posted at 10:31 AM, Apr 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-20 10:31:46-04

Warm weather is just a few more thunderstorms away.

The storm system that made its way through the South and Mid-Atlantic states, killing four people, is now pouring over the Northeast and will move into New England by Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

Flood watches are in effect for more than 40 million people in the Northeast through Saturday afternoon, CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said.

Low lying and poorly-drained areas are at risk of flooding, according to the weather service. The storms may also bring hail and tornadoes into Saturday.

Friday night, severe thunderstorms battered the Mid-Atlantic coast region, with powerful winds threatening cities in North Carolina to southeastern Pennsylvania with tornadoes and damage.

There were more than 250 wind reports and 11 tornado reports Friday from Florida to Virginia, CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said. That makes 38 tornado reports and nearly 500 wind reports from the Texas panhandle to the East Coast over a three-day period.

But the threat of severe weather is over. All watched and warnings for severe storms and tornadoes have expired and higher temperatures will begin to warm the region by Sunday.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, thousands from Florida to North Carolina to Pennsylvania were left without power.

The week's deadly storms

Four people were killed in the storms that touched down in many areas still reeling from last weekend's severe weather and tornadoes.

In Mississippi, officials confirmed two storm-related fatalities. Kenderick Magee, 24, was killed when his car crashed during severe weather in Amite County on Thursday, CNN affiliate WLBT reported. A second unidentified driver was killed the same day when his car hit a tree in in Neshoba County, according to the affiliate. The sheriff told local media that a tree fell on the car. In neighboring Alabama, one person died after a tree fell on a home, emergency management director Patrice Kurzejeski told CNN.

And in Florida, an 8-year-old was killed Friday when a tree fell through a home in Woodville, just south of Tallahassee, the Leon County Sheriff's office said.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a State of Emergency Friday evening following violent thunderstorms from the day before that damaged neighborhoods and businesses throughout the state.

The state was just beginning to recover from last weekend's storm system that left one county in shreds, killed one, and injured nine people across the state.