Spring storms off to deadly start

>>> last night into this morning as a violent weather front moved to the northeast across parts of the american south , nine americans lost their lives. they had no time to run as the fierce embedded storms that dropped down in the form of tornadoes took hold on several places. nbc's ron mott is two hours north of atlanta tonight in ellijay , georgia . ron , good evening.

>> reporter: good evening to you. as you mentioned, at least nine people have died in these storms, most in georgia . amazingly no, one here. this was a big, powerful, fast-moving storm that needed little time to cause a whole lot of damage. from kansas to texas, missouri to arkansas, monday was a mess, as a powerful storm system churned across the midwest and south, destroying property and claiming lives. among those killed, the driver of this car in atlanta . and an hour south of the city, a 28-year-old man and his 3-year-old son, who died when a tree crashed into the bedroom where they slept.

>> it don't feel real.

>> reporter: his fiancee, the child's mother, escaped unharmed with the couple's other toddler.

>> i was in my pajamas. i just had to run, to get there. when i got there, it was --

>> reporter: in kentucky melvin daughtry's mobile home was tossed on its side.

>> just fortunate that nobody was seriously hurt here.

>> reporter: golfball size hail fell in iowa as did trees just about everywhere the severe weather passed. in waverly, tennessee a likely tornado ripped through the town's square.

>> we had a lot of roofs blown off of buildings. power was interrupt odd to downtown.

>> reporter: in dallas lightning filled the sky. heavy rain filled streets.

>> the deadliest storm in georgia in more than a decade rolled through last night.

>> reporter: a lightning bolt hit a tower in atlanta , while another is suspected much sparking a fire that burned an entire block of businesses in south georgia . near the small town of ellijay , a boun housing 64 animals was leveled.

>> look at you.

>> reporter: they and three people with them all survived.

>> and my son went with my arm and i'm hanging and i was off the ground about like that.

>> reporter: tonight this system has moved off the east coast . it's now out over the atlantic but not before prompting a record number of severe weather reports.

>> ron mott in ellijay , georgia for us. ron , thanks.