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CHICAGO — Homes and businesses were damaged, several people were injured and tens of thousands remained in the dark Wednesday after a powerful storm system spawned tornadoes and damaging storms from the South to the Ohio Valley, and blizzard conditions and snow in the Great Lakes.
Severe storms injured at least 10 people in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just north of Louisville, the town's mayor told CNN affiliate WLKY. Photos posted by the mayor showed chunks taken out of several homes' roofs and debris strewn about an area neighborhood.
Severe thunderstorms brought "flooding, downed trees, power outages, and road blockages" across West Virginia, according to Gov. Jim Justice, who declared a state of emergency Tuesday for Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln and Nicholas counties.
At least 13 homes were damaged and some residents were injured, Fayette County, West Virginia, Office of Emergency Management director Kevin Walker told CNN. The injuries were non-life-threatening, Walker said.
"Some are destroyed, and some have major damage," Walker said.
Sixteen tornadoes were reported Tuesday and Wednesday morning across Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia, along with dozens of damaging wind reports, including gusts topping 100 mph in Kentucky.
A tornado ripped through Conyers, Georgia, just southeast of Atlanta early Wednesday morning, downing power lines and causing damage there, according to CNN affiliate WXIA. The storm sent a tree smashing through a teen's car and into his lap. The teen was rescued and taken to a hospital, WXIA reported.
An Ohio elementary school was left in shambles in Proctorville after a tornado-warned storm moved through the area. Luckily, students at Fairland West Elementary were on spring break, but the school will remain closed for now, school district officials told CNN.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a statewide state of emergency Tuesday as the Lexington area saw "significant damage" from the storms.
Structural damage was also reported throughout Barnsdall, Oklahoma, according to Barnsdall police, after four tornadoes swept through the state on Monday. Homes were damaged, garages were destroyed and roofs came off some of the houses, officer Eric Sofian told CNN.
"I was on duty and patrolling the streets when it came through," he said. "There was a lot of heavy wind, a lot of lightning and I could see a lot of sparks flying from the power lines."
Three more tornadoes hit Missouri on Monday, per the Storm Prediction Center.
In southern Indiana, multiple vehicles were flipped over "due to high winds or (a) possible tornado" on Interstate 265, Indiana State Police in Sellersburg said, adding minor injuries were reported.
Storms will continue to bring the threat of twisters, strong winds and large hail, this time to parts of the Southeast and East Coast from Florida to the mid-Atlantic. Over 30 million people are under a threat of some level of severe weather Wednesday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
