Boy, 10, fights for life after being swept into drain in storm-hit Tennessee

A woman looks through debris at her stormed damaged home in Columbia, Tennessee (George Walker/AP)

Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the southern US on Thursday as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.

A heavy line of storms swept into Atlanta near the end of the morning rush hour. Busy hub airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, reported delays.