Atlanta - Fast-moving spring storms packing high winds, hail and lightning blew through the Southeast, uprooting trees, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands and leaving at least seven people dead.
The strongest storms walloping the region carried with them dangerous wind gusts and the possibility of isolated tornadoes.
More than 125,000 people were without power early Tuesday around Atlanta and 147,000 across Georgia, according to Georgia Power.
The storms were moving across the Carolinas early Tuesday, knocking down trees and causing power outages.
Forecasters predicted the storms would move off the coast by mid-morning but that they would linger over central and southern Florida.
The Weather Channel also said a line of thunderstorms was heading to large parts of the mid-Atlantic region, from New Jersey to Virginia, where there was also the possibility of damaging winds and isolated tornadoes in the strongest sections of the storm.