Violent weather turns deadly

>>> on another front, our weather remains in the news tonight. what we're witnessing is florida-style warm air banging up against winter in the north and it is a violent collision all along that line. the line is so distinct, it's visible from space. and the map shows the damage done. the blue icons here, reports of high winds . the red funnels confirm tornadoes. just today. this is rare. violent weather for january. weather channel meteorologist julie martin is in hard-hit adaresville, georgia . good evening.

>> reporter: brian, good evening. this 18-wheeler, one of dozens flipped in this fast-moving storm that's left destruction across several states and killed two, ending the nation's longest break in tornado fatalities since records began back in 1950 . the picture says it all. a massive funnel cloud tearing through downtown adaresville, georgia .

>> right across the line .

>> reporter: destroying dozens of homes and businesses, killing at least one person. as the fast-moving storm swept across georgia , authorities were forced to shut down nearly ten miles of interstate 75 , after vehicles were tossed and overturned by strong winds. 100 people were at work when the twister took aim at this manufacturing plant .

>> seeing it come down. and it got to the last point, and you had to run.

>> reporter: thankfully, everyone made it out alive. the baker family rode out the storm in their backyard shelter.

>> we shut the door, you know, to keep us all safe. and then when we walked out, we saw this. and our home is gone. but we're okay.

>> reporter: children were forced to take cover inside schools. outside, streets flooded. and thousands were left without power. this after a night of wild weather, a line of storms stretches 1,000 miles from the gulf coast to the great lakes wreak havoc on the nation's mid section with high winds , heavy rain and even snow. in tennessee, the national weather service confirmed three tornadoes touched down overnight. one man was killed by a falling tree. and in kentucky, two people were injured when another confirmed tornado blew a trailer off its foundation. what we're seeing right now is springtime weather coming up from the gulf of mexico . warm and humid. wintertime weather coming down from canada, cold and dry. the clash coming together, creating some severe weather .

>> reporter: it's also led to a week of weather whiplash. a day after reaching a record 65 degrees in cleveland, tonight, it's expected to snow. and in green bay , where yesterday it was in the 50s, people are bracing for their second biggest snowfall of the season. and they're even sandbagging tonight outside the white house to protect from possible flooding. and tonight that severe weather threat exists all the way from our nation's capital in through northern florida. brian?

>> julie martin , adaresville, georgia . julie,