Tornado tears through Southeast, leaving two dead and homes destroyed

A massive,1,000-mile-long storm that formed at least 20 toadoes beat down on six states throughout the Southeast today, leaving at least two people dead.

A Georgia town was devastated with overtued cars on an interstate, wrecked homes and at least one person killed. Another person in Tennessee was also dead.

Footage showed a funnel cloud roaring through the downtown area of Adairsville, Ga., about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta, flipping cars and demolishing a home.

Gone: Debris lies on yard after a toado moved through the town. At least two people throughout the southeast have been killed by the storm system

Still alive: Will Carter, 15, surveys the damage to his house upon arriving home from school following the storm

The massive storm system caused at least 20 toadoes throughout six states, ranging from Missouri to Georgia, USA Today said.

Most dangerous were powerful wind gusts that in several places were powerful enough to overtu tractor-trailers.

Winds were recorded to be as high as 115 mph in parts of Tennessee.

There were reports that people were trapped in homes and businesses, and television footage showed large sections of a sprawling manufacturing plant had been destroyed.

Interstate 75 was closed in both directions after the storm flipped about 100 cars onto their roofs and tossed them onto the grassy shoulder.

At least two toadoes were confirmed and several more suspected, and conditions remained ripe for more. Since Tuesday, the system had caused damage across a swath from Missouri to Georgia.

In recent days, people in the South and Midwest had enjoyed unseasonably balmy temperatures in the 60s and 70s. A system pulling warm weather from the Gulf of Mexico was colliding with a cold front moving in from the west, creating volatility.

Police said high winds toppled a tree onto a shed in Nashville, Tenn., where a man had taken shelter, killing him.

Jerry Hardin, 64, in Hogan, Tenn. said he was feeling lucky to be 'in one piece.'

He and his wife, Norma said they missed being hit by a collapsing ceiling by about three seconds.

'We moved just in time. He came this close to getting hit,' he told The Tennessean newspaper.

Leveled: Homes throughout the region were brought to rubble by the powerful toado

Across the region, downed power lines, trees and tree limbs were making it difficult to reach people who needed help.

At least 24,000 people were without power in Georgia and there thousands more in other states, CNN said.

One person was reported injured by lightning in Arkansas during the storm's eastward trek. Two people suffered minor injuries when a mobile home was blown off its foundation in Kentucky.

Destruction: The storm was powerful enough to knock over this tractor-trailer. There were reports of people trapped in their homes and offices

In Tennessee, officials confirmed that a toado with peak wind speeds of 115 mph touched down in Mount Juliet. No serious injuries were reported there, though the path of damage was about 150 yards wide, including homes, a warehouse and an automotive business.

At a shopping center in Mount Juliet, large sheets of metal littered the parking lot, light poles were knocked down and bits of fiberglass insulation were stuck in the trees.

One wall of a Dollar General convenience store collapsed, and the roof was to off. Mark Fulks Jr. runs Mark's Automotive with his father in a building attached to the Dollar General. The garage door was blown off his shop and sitting on one of the cars inside, and Fulks said several of the cars they were working on had their windshields blown out.

Terrible loss: Residents search through debris after a storm ripped through Coble, Tenn. early today

Not safe: A vehicle lies on a road after a toado moved through Adairsville. Interstate 75 was closed in both directions after the storm flipped cars onto their roofs and tossed them onto the grassy shoulder

A nearby office building and a distribution center for The Tennessean newspaper also had severe damage. Rick Martin, who bags the newspapers and helps his wife deliver them, was shocked when he saw what was left of the distribution center.

The metal frame of the building still stood, but its cinderblock walls had crumbled, and papers and plastic bags littered the trees.

'We feel real lucky,' he said on Wednesday moing as looked at the damage. 'I would have hated to be in here when this happened.'

Smashed: The front entrance to this Subway sandwich shop in Mount Juliet, Tenn. is completely gone