A severe storm was moving east across the central and southern United States on Wednesday, a day after it carved a destructive path that killed three people in Mississippi and two in Nebraska, pulled down power lines and ripped roofs off buildings.

One of the people who died was electrocuted by a downed power line, said Alex Breeland, the coroner for Madison County, Miss., and another was killed when a tree fell on his car. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported a third death and at least six injuries on Wednesday. In Nebraska, two people were killed in a crash on Tuesday after their S.U.V. struck a semi truck on Interstate 80 during the storm, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

More than 51,000 customers in Texas and more than 17,000 in Tennessee were without power on Wednesday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us, as the storm’s strong winds pummeled the region. The authorities in some parts of Texas closed schools and ordered residents to evacuate.

The storm, unusually strong for March, was expected to strengthen as it moved east, bringing rain and thunderstorms to the East Coast. In parts of Minnesota 11 to 13 inches of snow fell between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Minneapolis. The Minnesota State Patrol warned of slippery roads in the Twin Cities area on Wednesday.

In Iowa, the State Patrol said it responded to more than 60 crashes on Tuesday and Wednesday, including one that damaged a trooper’s car, because of “the extreme weather conditions.”

Areas from the Mid-Atlantic to Jacksonville, Fla., were the most at risk, with strong to severe thunderstorms expected ahead of a cold front, the Weather Service said on Wednesday.

The strongest storms were expected over the eastern Carolinas and southeastern Virginia, including Norfolk and Virginia Beach. The Storm Prediction Center issued an enhanced risk for these regions, warning of severe thunderstorms that could produce damaging wind gusts and isolated tornadoes through Wednesday evening.

Some shoreline areas in the Northeast are facing coastal flood advisories, according to the Weather Service. Up to six inches of rain were expected through Wednesday night in some low-lying areas along the South Shore of Long Island, the Connecticut shore and on Cape Cod.Blizzard conditions were forecast from north of Kansas City, Mo., to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan through Wednesday night.

One person was injured and 24 families displaced when a tornado hit parts of Ada, Okla., on Tuesday morning, KOCO-TV of Oklahoma City reported, citing local officials. A mobile home was also destroyed, KOCO said.

In Texas, a brief tornado carved a destructive path through Irving, northwest of Dallas early Tuesday, with winds estimated at up to 110 miles per hour. By Tuesday afternoon, a dust storm had caused the skies in Central Texas to turn dark orange. Local news outlets referred to it as a “haboob,” which the Weather Service describes as an extreme dust storm that can last up to three hours.