Two children among six dead and 23 injured after powerful tornadoes battered Tennessee - as NYC prepares for 60mph storm to batter the Northeast

Two children are among the six people dead after a powerful set of tornadoes battered Tennessee on Saturday - while New York City prepares for a rare high wind storm, bringing gusts of up to 60mph. 

Over two dozen people have been rushed to hospital after homes and businesses were damaged in multiple cities. Hail the size of quarters pummeled down, while trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in the deadly twisters. 

Three people, including a child, were killed after a tornado struck Montgomery County, north of Nashville near the Kentucky state line.

Multiple municipalities have reported injuries and roofs torn off homes - and in Tennessee, 45,000 are still without power as of Sunday morning.

Nashville Emergency Operation Center said that three other people were killed by severe storms in a downtown neighborhood. Meanwhile, another 23 people were treated for injuries at hospitals in Montgomery County.

Photos posted on social media showed damaged houses with debris strewn in the lawns, a tractor-trailer flipped on its side on a highway and insulation ripped out of building walls.

Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts said in a statement: 'This is devastating news and our hearts are broken for the families of those who lost loved ones.

'The city stands ready to help them in their time of grief.'

A state of emergency was declared in Clarksville following the horrific twisters.  

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department identified the victims killed downtown as Joseph Dalton, 37, Floridema Gabriel Perez, 31, and her son, Anthony Elmer Mendez, 2. 

Dalton was inside his mobile home when the storm tossed it on top of Perez´s residence. Two other children, one in each home, were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the department said in a statement.

The Montgomery County Sheriff´s Office said in a statement that a tornado touched down around 2 pm. A shelter was set up at a local high school.

Residents were asked to stay at home while first responders evaluated the situation. In a briefing shared on social media, Pitts said there was extensive damage.

'So please, if you need help, call 911 and help will be on the way immediately. But if you can, please stay home. Do not get out on the roads. Our first responders need time and space,' he said.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he and his wife, Maria, were praying for all Tennesseans who had been affected by the storms.

'We mourn the lives lost and ask that everyone continue to follow guidance from local and state officials,' Lee said in a statement.

Shanika Washington said that as soon as she heard the storm sirens going off in her Clarksville neighborhood, she took her children, ages 5 and 10, to a windowless bathroom in the basement of her townhouse.

'The lights were flickering, so I knew it was somewhere close in the vicinity,' she said. 'I just kept praying to God as it was going on. It was very terrifying and scary.'

During their 20 harrowing minutes in the bathroom, Washington hovered over her children as a protective shield.

'The back door absolutely did fly open, and you just heard a bunch of wind,' she said. 'The blinds and stuff were like shaking really bad. 

'I could tell that we were dead smack in the middle of a storm.'

When she came out of the bathroom, she looked out of a window and saw that debris had been swept onto cars with windows broken out, shutters ripped from homes, and some roofs ripped off townhouses. 

Because the power in the area was out, Washington took her children to a hotel for the night.

'I´m still shaken up a little bit, so I probably won´t get much sleep tonight,' Washington said. 'I´m still trying to just kind of like process it all.'

Allie Phillips, who lives in Clarksville, said she was grabbing lunch when she began receiving notifications that a tornado was quickly approaching her neighborhood.

'It was excruciating watching the live stream and not knowing if my house was still there,' she said. 

'When we finally decided to leave, the road to my home was shut down because so many power lines were on the road and we had to take a detour.'

Phillips said her home survived with minimal damage - noting that her daughter´s toys were banged up and that a neighbor´s dog kennel hit the back of her home - but she was saddened to see that her neighbor´s house was missing a roof and a home up the block had all but completely disappeared.

The National Weather Service issued multiple tornado warnings in Tennessee, and said it planned to survey an area where an apparent tornado hit in Kentucky.

The storm came nearly two years to the day after the National Weather Service recorded 41 tornadoes through a handful of states, including 16 in Tennessee and eight in Kentucky. A total of 81 people died in Kentucky alone.

Meanwhile, the Northeast storm will grow in strength and expand, with the wettest and windiest weather felt Sunday into Monday before plunging temperatures could turn precipitation into snow.

Howling winds could bring down trees, disrupt flights and cause power outages when they blow in across New England on Sunday.

The storm is due to reach peak strength by the afternoon as it engulfs much of the east, with gusts picking up considerable compared to Saturday where the gales will be concentrated more in the south.

By Sunday night the winds could whip up to 60mph across New England and coastal portions of New York and New Jersey.

The public has been warned to secure any outdoor holiday decorations, while those traveling by air could see delays or cancellations. 

'Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and make driving difficult, especially for drivers of high profile vehicles,' the National Weather Service said,

'Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle.'

Almost all of eastern parts of the US are set to be lashed by heavy rain, with some area to be drenched by up to three inches.

Forecasters warned flash flooding is likely, with parts along the East Coast expected to be soaked by at least an inch of rain.