ATLANTA -- Powerful storms rumbled over parts of the U.S. Southeast on Thursday, prompting a few tornado warnings, causing flash flooding and delaying the start of one of the world's biggest sporting events in Georgia.
The storm system, which has already been blamed for at least one death in Mississippi, demolished buildings and flooded streets in the New Orleans area Wednesday. It continued to spawn flash flood and tornado warnings in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Thursday.
More than 100,000 customers lacked power Thursday afternoon nationwide. That included more than 60,000 in Louisiana, which was hit hard by storms Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us.
Forecasters said parts of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia would be near the bull's-eye of a new area of concern Thursday. The areas were at risk of tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail, according to the latest outlooks from the Storm Prediction Center.
The entire state of Ohio was under a flood watch Thursday afternoon. The ground there was already saturated with the potential for heavy rainfall on the way, said James Gibson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Ohio.
Public school students in at least a dozen counties in West Virginia were sent home early Thursday due to the arriving storms. Southern West Virginia was hit by 10 tornadoes April 2. It was a record for one day in the state, which gets two tornadoes in an average year.
In Augusta, Georgia, the start of the Masters golf tournament was delayed, tournament officials announced. Forecasters predicted wind gusts as high as 45 mph.
"Those wind speeds could easily knock down branches here and there," said Brad Carlberg, a National Weather Service forecaster. "Just be aware of the weather and gusts, especially if you are near trees, because a branch could fall down at any time."
Torrential rains early Thursday made roads impassable in Valdosta, Georgia, an emergency manager reported. In Tallahassee, Florida, storms toppled trees and caused significant street flooding, the weather service said.
Emergency responders Thursday afternoon were assessing damage near St. Augustine, Florida, where the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down earlier that day. Photos shared by St. Johns County Fire Rescue showed fences ripped apart, but no deaths or serious injuries were reported. Fire Rescue Chief Sean McGee said one person went to a local hospital with storm-related injuries, but they were not transported by rescue workers.
Meteorologist Ben Nelson said National Weather Service teams were surveying the area to determine the cyclone's intensity.
Storm damage was reported from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
A tornado struck Slidell, about 30 miles northeast of New Orleans, on Wednesday. It ripped roofs off buildings and partially collapsed others in and around the city of about 28,000. Authorities said first responders had to rescue people trapped in one apartment building.
Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer estimated at a news conference Wednesday night that about 75 homes and businesses were damaged. St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper estimated that hundreds more homes were damaged outside the city.
There were no reports of deaths or critical injuries in Slidell. The weather service posted on social media Wednesday that initial surveys indicate the area was hit by an EF1 tornado, with winds from 86 mph to 110 mph.
A woman died in central Mississippi when a power outage shut down her oxygen machine, officials said. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said 72 homes were damaged.
Information for this article was contributed by Kevin McGill, Sara Cline, John Raby, Jamie Stengle, Michael Goldberg, Juan Lozano, Sarah Brumfield, Jeff Martin, Emily Wagster Pettus and Julie Walker of The Associated Press.