What to Know About the Destructive Spring Storm System

Heavy rain and fierce winds have been pummeling the central and southeastern United States for more than five days, leaving a trail of death, damage and disruption across parts of 19 states.

The storm system, born of warm air, strong winds, abundant moisture and an unstable atmosphere, drenched the middle of the country through the weekend, devastating communities from Texas to Ohio with flooding and tornadoes.

The storm is now shifting eastward toward the Atlantic coast, and it is expected to start moving out to sea on Monday and Tuesday, leaving behind enough fallen rain to keep rivers and streams swelling for days to come.

Here’s what to know about the destructive storm system.

Many states have been drenched by heavy rain for days.

The heavy rain from the storm lasted for days in many areas, saturating the ground and engorging streams and rivers with much more runoff than they could handle.

The area around Benton, in western Kentucky, recorded more than 15 inches of rain from Tuesday morning to Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Memphis got more than a foot over that same period, and some areas along Interstate 40 to the northeast of the city were swamped with nearly 16 inches. Totals of eight to 11 inches were common from Central Arkansas through the boot heel of Missouri to the Ohio River Valley.