Warm, humid conditions across the central and eastern United States have made the region especially vulnerable to flash flooding, weather forecasters say.

Dozens of people were rescued from flood waters Thursday after severe weather and thunderstorms doused the Kansas City metro Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

North Carolina has declared a state of emergency after Tropical Storm Chantal caused severe flooding and at least six deaths. Gov.

The good news is a marked decrease in intensity of the thunderstorms in the past two hours. As of 7:30 p.m. there is only one isolated severe thunderstorm warning in effect over the entire Great Lakes region. The National Weather Service has watched this decline and cancelled the severe thunderstorm watch in effect for this evening.

What happened was not a tornado, but a microburst. This was likely due to the core of the storm collapsing, leading to powerful winds rushing to the surface. At one point nearly 2,800 customers were without power in Page County alone. With around 1,000 customers without power in Shenandoah and Rockingham Counties.

Kansas City metro faces record rainfall and flash floods, prompting water rescues. Warnings issued for mulitple areas of the metro, including Independence, Raytown, and Blue Springs.

A line of storms racing toward Chicago prompted Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for most area counties Wednesday afternoon. The greatest severe weather threat is hail, wind and isolated tornadoes.