Deadly storm takes aim at mid-Atlantic, Northeast U.S.

May 29 (UPI) -- Two people were killed and one was missing after a storm passed through the Midwest over Memorial Day weekend, threatening holiday plans in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, first responders said.

A car carrying five people from Nashville, Ark., drove through higher water in Branson, Mo., and was overtaken on Saturday night. Officials recovered three bodies, the driver is missing and two escaped, Don Gregory with the Branson Fire Department said Sunday.

The people in the vehicle were traveling to participate in the HoopsPlay Basketball Tournaments, Branson officials said.

Over 24 hours, the tourist area received 4 to 6 inches of rain.

At least a dozen people were rescued from the high waters.

"The creek had swollen out of its banks and was pushing stalled-out cars down the hill into me," said James Lucas Jr., who was driving with his family when they were suddenly caught in a flash flood. "Four kids were screaming the whole time, watching people and cars floating by. Kinda was really amazing because we all made it safe."

Wind and hail damage were reported in the area.

On Sunday, the bad weather affected 40 million people from Texas to Pennsylvania, according to CNN.

High winds knocked out power and toppled trees in Memphis, Tenn., WMC-TV reported. The Tom Lee Memorial was knocked down and wind gusts up to 69 mph blew a satellite dish off the roof of the city's emergency management office.

Nearly 150,000 residents lost power in the city.

"Please begin to prepare for a long term outage situation. Make arrangements for elderly, young children," Memphis Light, Gas and Water posted on Twitter. "Full restoration could take at least a week."

A storm is forecast to hit parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Memorial Day.

"It's going to be an ugly Memorial Day for much of the East Coast, almost a complete washout in New York and Boston," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Samuhel told USA Today. "In the Carolinas, in Georgia, we expect to see localized, very severe weather. Straight-line winds and hail, and an isolated tornado can't be ruled out."

But weather will be cooler.

"Memorial Day may be the coolest in New York City since 2004," Samuhel said.

He said storms will also jeopardize outdoors plans across the Great Lakes.

More showers and thunderstorms were forecast across the Northeast on Tuesday and Wednesday.