A winter storm has ripped through the central U.S. and South Wednesday with damaging winds and possible tornadoes.

The system is being blamed for one death after winds blew a large tree down on a shed in Nashville, Tenn.

One person was even struck by lightning and injured in Arkansas, where there are downed trees and scattered power outages. Forecasters are investigating reports of twisters in the state and at least 9,000 homes and businesses lost electricity.

Many in the North are bracing for that storm system. 

This comes after much of the Midwest and South bathed in unseasonably balmy temperatures earlier this week. In some places, temperatures climbed into the high 70s.

Chicago residents have been whipped by weather extremes. The Windy City saw subzero temperatures and brutal wind chills a week ago, but temperatures soared to the mid-60s on Tuesday.