Tornadoes reported across the southern US as storms continue

Tornadoes and heavy storms have been reported across much of the southern United States Wednesday, leaving several reported dead. 

The Associated Press said one person killed as a tornado touched down in Georgia, while a 47-year-old man in Nashville, Tennessee, was killed after a tree fell on a shed he was in,NBC News reported. 

From AP: 

A tornado watch has been issued in Georgia, according to ABC's CarolinaLive, where high winds overturned 10 cars on Interstate 75, said BBC News. 

Another woman was struck by lightning and injured in Arkansas, according to local channel WSPA. 

Numerous buildings, some with people inside, were damaged in Georgia's northern Bartow County.

Central Tennessee is under a tornado warning, as are Kentucky and Georgia. Tornado watches are also being observed in areas of Mississippi, Ohio and West Virginia, according to NBC. The warnings are in effect until Wednesday afternoon. 

"I think it's definitely a dangerous night and day," said CNN Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera, according to WPTV. 

The violent storms come ahead of a cold front, and have hit several states with high winds and heavy rains, the Associated Press reported. 

The conditions are changing rapidly, causing a risk for tornadoes in much of the south and Midwest, according to the AP. The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center said the threat was currently the greatest in northeast Texas, northern Louisiana, northwest Mississippi, southeast Missouri and much of Arkansas, the AP reported. 

The storms have already left hundreds of homes without power: around 22,000 outages have been reported across the south, NBC News report. 

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