A barrage of powerful storms was bearing down on Nashville early Friday, but meteorologists predicted the system would rapidly lose power as it continued east. Damaging winds left more than 250,000 homes and businesses without power across Texas on Thursday. Two tornadoes were reported in Arkansas and Missouri. The line of weather stretched from Texas to the Great Lakes. But the more severe southern end was taking aim at the Tennessee capital just in time for Friday morning's commute.
"Aside from Nashville this morning, we are in for a far calmer day," said Michael Palmer, lead forecaster at The Weather Channel. "There is a very low chance of tornadoes throughout the day." The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning across central Tennessee and Kentucky. On Thursday, Dallas was hit with gusts as strong as 70 mph and more than 700 flights were canceled in Chicago. But by 4 a.m. ET Friday, only 5,000 properties around Dallas Fort-Worth were without power. Although the storm was expected to weaken, Palmer said there was still the chance of "pop-up" severe storms when it hit the Carolinas later in the day.
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