By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist and Dalia Faheid

(CNN) — At least one person is dead as a powerful storm batters the eastern half of the US with dangerous flooding, prompting hurried evacuations, widespread road closures and hazardous travel conditions in several states.

A 73-year-old resident of Manchester, Kentucky, died in the Horse Creek area after being swept away by heavy floodwaters when he got out of his car Saturday night, the Clay County Coroner’s Office told CNN.

Flash flood emergencies and warnings were in effect for hundreds of thousands in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky,Arkansas and Tennesseethrough Saturday night. At least 413,000 people in Virginia wereunder a flood threat that could cause “considerable damage.”

Several tornado warnings were issued in Mississippi, West Tennessee and Southeast Arkansas Saturday evening and a large tornado watch for the overnight hours covers much of Mississippi and Alabama.

Meanwhile, more than 19,000 homes and business in Virginia were without power as of Saturday evening, according to poweroutage.us. More than 16,000 were also left in the dark across Kentucky and Lousiana.

Heavy rains arepummeling parts of Virginia, with flash floods reported in the southwest region, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a post on X Saturday afternoon. In some areas, 1.5 to 3 inches of rain have fallen, and an additional 0.5 to 1.5 inches are possible.

“Stay alert – don’t fight the water, just leave, and call for help,” Youngkin said.

Authorities are urging residents to evacuate flooded areas immediately and seek help if needed with first responders, rescue crews, law enforcement, VDOT, and the Virginia National Guard actively deployed to ensure public safety.

As widespread flooding swamped Kentucky, Kentucky Route 160 in Knott County was closed due to a landslide, while some homes in Perry County were evacuated, and waters in Hardin County reached historic levels, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday afternoon. In the city of Jackson, “serious flooding” overflowed the 75-acre Panbowl Lake as teams rushed to evacuate the area and facilities including a nursing home and hospital, officials said Saturday night.

“Kentucky, we’re seeing widespread flooding across the state, and we need everyone to take this seriously,” Beshear said in the statement. “Make sure you can receive weather alerts, have radios turned on and are prepared to seek higher ground if necessary.”

Beshear declared a state of emergency Friday ahead of the storm. Shelters are being opened for those who evacuated their homes and Kentucky State Police are doing wellness checks, he said Saturday night.

Kentucky streets were already inundated with water and parks turned into lakes on Saturday afternoon – and water levels are expected to continue rising through the evening. Some areas had already seen 2 to 4 inches of rain by Saturday afternoon.

“Heavy rain is causing flooding in our area, and our storm sewer system is currently working at maximum capacity,” said the City of Bowling Green on X Saturday. “If you can avoid traveling today, please stay off the roads to keep yourself and others safe.”

Floodwaters surged through the roadways in several cities throughout Simpson County, Kentucky. At one point, “a stalled vehicle was pushed out of the water,” the county’s emergency management office said. With water only getting deeper, “road closed” signs and barricades were put up and residents were strongly urged to stay home.

City of Manchester authorities responded to “numerous” water rescues, the police department said Saturday afternoon.

Elsewhere in Kentucky, dozens of flooded roads were closed in Adair County, according to emergency management officials.

Soaking rain may also cause other hazards such as downed trees and rock slides, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet warned.

Kentucky residents worry they’ll ‘lose everything again’

Historic flooding is hitting Kentucky again only two years after catastrophic flooding left 43 people dead and nearly leveled parts of the state.

Flooding washed away homes, submerged vehicles in deep floodwaters and destroyed many businesses and critical infrastructure for water and electricity. Thousands of residents were displaced in the aftermath.

As he relives the severe flooding that destroyed his home in 2022, Knott County resident Danny Laferty said he is anxious he will “lose everything again.”

“It was awful, terrible. I mean we had mud six inches deep in here,” Laferty told CNN on Saturday. “That’s what makes me so nervous.”

Laferty, who is still in the process of redoing his flood-damaged home, recalls having to evacuate his home with his grandchildren and dogs.

“My wife, it’s pretty tough on her. And it’s pretty tough on me,” he said. “There’s just so much hard work and agony.”

He’s grown accustomed to flooding in the area but says the type of flooding he’s seen in the last few years in eastern Kentucky is “different.”

“I don’t understand floods getting this high,” he said.

A major, potentially historic, flash flood event

The potent storm that already plunged parts of California underwater is dealing a serious blow to the eastern US with flooding rain, severe thunderstorms, possible tornadoes, snow and ice over the weekend. Snow is blanketing parts of the Great Lakes while heavyrain is falling to the south in parts of the Ohio Valley and thunderstorms are rumbling in the Mississippi Valley.

The stormis strengtheningSaturday and will reach its peak strength overnight into Sunday as it barrels through much of the East. The storm largely comes to an end Monday, but lake-effect snow could bury parts of the Great Lakes in its wake.

Heavy, flooding rainfall is the storm’s most widespread threat and much of it is falling Saturday.

A swath of more than 1,200 miles from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast could experience flooding with more than 2 inches of rain expected in many locations.

Some locales will get much more.

A rare level 4 of 4 high risk of flooding rainfall is in place for more than 1.5 million people in parts of northwestern Tennessee and western Kentucky where “life-threatening and significant flooding is anticipated,” according to the Weather Prediction Center. More than 500 miles of the country, from eastern Arkansas to West Virginia are under a level 3 of 4 risk of flooding rainfall Saturday, according to the center.

“A major, potentially historic, flash flood event is possible this afternoon and tonight,” the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, warned Saturday morning.

The long-duration rainfall event began before dawn and triggered flash flood warnings in Tennessee and Kentucky, but the worst flooding is happening in the early afternoon and evening.

It’s hard to overstate just how significant these events are. They are issued on fewer than 4% of days per year on average, but are responsible for more than 80% of all flood-related damage and 40% of all flood-related deaths, research from the Weather Prediction Center shows.

The threat level is raised because the atmospheric setup for the storm is “quite unusual for mid-February” and could support rainfall rates up to 2 inches per hour in the heaviest storms, according to the center. Half a foot of precipitation could fallin the high-risk area where heavier bouts of rain essentially get stuck for an extended period.

Almost no area could absorb that much rain without flooding, but recent storms have already soaked soils in this region and make the threat that much more dire.

Strong tornadoes possible

Severe thunderstorms are roaring to life south of where the heaviest rain was falling Saturday. These storms pack a serious punch and a level 3 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms is in place for portions of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Damaging wind gusts and tornadoes are likely in these storms, especially from late Saturday afternoon through the overnight hours.

While almost any severe thunderstorm could produce a tornado on Saturday, locations in the level 3 of 5 risk area – particularly Mississippi – are at the greatest risk for strong ones rated EF2 or higher.

EF2 tornadoes have winds of 111-135 mph, capable of tearing roofs from homes and shifting them off their foundations.

Some of the most violent storms are also expected after dark, making them even more dangerous. It’s difficult to spot a tornado at night, even for those who are awake or are awoken by warnings.

Nighttime tornadoes are twice as likely to be deadly as those that occur during the day, a 2022 study found. A deadly tornado roared through a Tennessee community after dark just last week, killing at least two people.

Some severe thunderstorms will persist into Sunday morning and could bring damaging winds from Florida through the mid-Atlantic.

More snow and ice incoming

The storm will dump snow and ice on its northern, colder side while flooding rain and severe thunderstorms pound areas caught under its warmer side.

Snow is falling over the Great Lakes and reaching into the Northeast while icy conditions unfold in parts of the Ohio Valley Saturday morning. Snow will reach more of the Northeast Saturday afternoon before changing over to an icy mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain in many locales as warmer air surges north later in the evening.

This messy mix will slam much of New York state and New England overnight and Sunday while the storm is at its peak strength.

Strong winds will also roar across the Northeast and could knock out power especially in any areas also dealing with snow and ice. Traveling in affected areas will be tricky.

Snow totals through the weekend could hit double digits in parts of the Great Lakes, northern New York and northern New England. Any mixing with ice and sleet will limit totals in areas just south of the heaviest snow, especially in the Ohio Valley and southern portions of the Northeast.

Lake-effect snow will kick up across the Great Lakes in the wake of the storm on Monday.

Another round of frigid air will also spill into much of the US after the storm departs. Temperatures could plunge more than 30 degrees below normal for much of the central US early next week.

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