A major storm began dumping heavy rain across the southeastern U.S. on Monday, triggering flood advisories from the Carolinas to Florida as delays piled up at airports. About 36 million people living along the Eastern Seaboard were at risk of severe thunderstorms as well as "a tornado or two, localized damaging winds and hail," according to theStorm Prediction Center. AccuWeather forecasterssay a dozen states from the Gulf Coast to Virginia could see at least 2 inches of rain over the coming days. Parts of Florida, southern Georgia and Alabama could see up to 10 inches – about two months' worth of rain, according to AccuWeather. Flood watches were in place across South Florida, central Alabama and the Carolinas, which could see its most rain since Hurricane Helene ravaged the area in September. In eastern North Carolina, where forecasters issued a flash flood warning, 2-4 inches of rain had fallen by the afternoon. The weather service office in Morehead City said hazards associated with the storm include "life threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses." Through the week, the storm system is expected to move northward, eventually bringing a flood threat to the Mid-Atlantic region. The same storm system was responsible for a severe weather outbreak over the weekend, drenching several states and spinning up tornadoes that tore across Florida, leaving widespread damage in the communities of Destin and Esto. A broad swath of central South Carolina and eastern Georgia received 3 to 6 inches of rain in the 24 hours before Monday, according to National Weather Service radar estimates. Anywhere from 6-10 inches of rain was reported in several pockets along a line between Appling, Georgia, and Barnwell, South Carolina. Flooding in low-lying areas was reported in scattered locations across the region, including Hampton, Orangeburg, Lexington and Richland, South Carolina, and near Savannah, Georgia, the weather service reported. With the ground already inundated, bouts of heavy rainfall could quickly produce flash floods, especially in low-lying areas and along the banks of bulging rivers. Airports throughout the region – and scores of travelers – have begun experiencing delays as a result of the potent storm. More than 40 flights were canceled and about 160 were delayed at Miami International Airport, according to FlightAware. Departures at the airport were delayed by an average of an hour and a half, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said ground stops were possible at airports in Tampa, Miami and Atlanta. Across Florida, Georgia and Alabama, more than 20,000 homes and businesses were without power, according to PowerOutage.us. The state with the most outages was Florida, where more than 9,500 utility customers woke up in the dark. The southeast counties of Miami-Dade and Broward had the highest number of outages at over 3,000, according to the tracking website. Forecasters say outages could continue to climb as the storm brings heavy winds and periods of torrential rainfall to the region. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Major storm could bring two months' worth of rain to parts of US
