Storms flood neighborhoods with a wintry mix and drop ‘thunder ice’ in several states

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Storms sent creeks over their banks and caused flash flooding in portions of West Virginia and Kentucky on Thursday, while a wintry mix coated trees and roads in ice and even dropped “thunder ice” in several states.

Residents and storm spotters in portions of Indiana, southern Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania reported the unusual “thunder ice” mix early Thursday — freezing rain accompanied by flashes of lightning in the unstable air.

“You ever seen that?” Brian Heffner of Spencerville, Ohio, said in a video he posted on Facebook. “I’ve never seen lightning and heard thunder during an ice storm. It’s cool.”

In West Virginia, the thunder just kept coming and coming.

A long line of thunderstorms kept residents awake overnight with hours of heavy rains, flooding neighborhoods and causing accidents where water ponded on some interstate highways. Schools in numerous counties delayed classes or closed Thursday.

Several inches of rain in Charleston prompted county officials to activate an emergency operations center. Authorities responded to multiple rescue calls before the waters began to recede by late morning, officials said. Most of West Virginia and portions of eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio remained under flood warnings by midday.

In south-central Kentucky, a National Weather Service team was surveying damage reports after high winds tore part some roofs and scattered debris.

The storm left trees and roads in several mid-Atlantic states coated in ice before warmer temperatures moved in by midday Thursday. Most areas avoided significant power outages that can accompany accumulating ice on trees and power lines.

Forecasts for several inches of snow prompted closures and delays for dozens of school systems in New England. In Maine, more than 200 schools and businesses were closed or shutting early. The Kennebunk area school district was one of many that chose to close fully rather than risk a messy commute for afternoon school buses.

“Road conditions are expected to rapidly deteriorate once the snow begins, potentially putting students and staff at risk if we were to implement an early release scenario,” said district superintendent Terri Cooper.

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Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield Cockeysville, Maryland, and Patrick Whittle in Scarborough, Maine, contributed to this report.