At least two people drowned when their vehicles were caught in floodwaters in Oklahoma on Wednesday as slow-moving thunderstorms inundated roads across parts of that state and Texas, authorities said, while Pennsylvania residents picked up from a powerful storm that left three people dead.
Heavy rains and severe thunderstorms will mean a heightened risk of flash flooding across the south-central US through early Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
Rains drench parts of Oklahoma and Texas
The storms drenched much of southern Oklahoma and northern Texas, flooding and washing out roads and causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled or delayed at major airports.
One man drowned in Oklahoma after his vehicle got swept off a Pottawatomie County highway, said Sheriff Freeland Wood.
My deputy went in to try and save him, and he got caught up in the same mess, Wood said.
The deputy was treated at a local hospital and released, Wood said. Floodwaters closed nearly three dozen roa