Surly Memorial Day weather lashing East, South

An assortment of heavy rains, damaging winds and hail that has been lashing much of the United States since the Memorial Day weekend began promised to continue its assault on holiday activities Monday across parts of the East and South.

"It's going to be an ugly Memorial Day for much of the East Coast, almost a complete washout in New York and Boston," warned AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Samuhel. "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."

The weekend got off to a rugged weather start. In Tennessee, high winds and hail Saturday were blamed for power outages affecting hundreds of thousands of people.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division said about 150,000 of its customers were affected; tens of thousands remained without power Sunday. "Vast portions" of infrastructure were damaged by high winds and falling trees, the company said. The company warned that some customers faced a lengthy outage and suggested making "arrangements" for the very young and very old.

"Once again, this is a long term restoration effort," the company tweeted. "It could take at least a week before full restoration occurs."

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The city of Memphis reported on its Twitter feed that police and fire first responders were deluged with reports of downed trees. Wireless phones were not exempt from the chaos. Officials with AT&T issued a statement saying some of its Memphis customers "may be experiencing issues" because of the storms. Cathy Lewandowski, spokeswoman for AT&T, said crews are coordinating efforts with local officials to restore service.

Hail almost the size of softballs was reported in parts of Missouri, and possible tornadoes were sighted near Falcon and Twin Bridges in central Missouri and near Welty, Okla. In Kentucky, heavy rain triggered flooding and mudslides in several counties. In Virginia, cars were damaged by hail near Richmond.

Rain and dreary weather dampened spirits in much of the Midwest and East on Sunday. Skies and track stayed dry for the 101st Indianapolis 500, but Samuhel said parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio could expect severe weather by day's end. Severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes also were possible across much of Texas overnight, he said.

"Once storms get going in Texas, it could get pretty nasty," Samuhel said. "But this time of year it's hard to get through a day without severe weather somewhere."

Contributing: Ron Maxey, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal