Floods and Twisters Reported as More Than 24 Hours of Storms Hit Several States

— -- Severe storms have caused damage across the U.S. in the past 24 hours as monsoon floodwaters were reported in parts of Arizona and the National Weather Service confirmed tornadoes and a waterspout had struck several states Thursday.

In Scottsdale and Phoenix, residents posted videos and images on social media of water rescues and completely washed-out roads. According to the National Weather Service, more than two inches of rain fell today in a short period of time. Flood watches and warnings continued through the early afternoon.

In New Orleans, Louisiana, families were still cleaning up today after storms drenched the Big Easy in torrential rain and brought a tornado to the Seventh Ward.

A National Weather Service team later identified the twister as an EF-0, with maximum 80 mph winds and said the twister was a half-mile in length.

"It looks like we have four spots where it touched down," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said today. "We have all of our teams at all of the different locations to make sure everybody's safe."

The city said that all residents had been accounted for and two people were hospitalized. Several homes sustained damage and at least three structures were destroyed. A smell of leaking sewage was reported in some areas.

"The swirl of debris a block away from my house, coming this way," one resident said. "That kind of looked like a bomb go off at first."

Also on Thursday, the National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado had touched down for 17 minutes in Yulee, Florida.

Amongst the damage, 40 to 50 damaged homes were reported and a flipped semi tractor-trailer was found on its side. The team said the tornado had stretched 200 yards wide and reached maximum wind speeds of 90 to 100 mph.

In Iowa, residents of Council Bluffs reported a waterspout over Lake Manawa, which is near Omaha, Nebraska. The National Weather Service said no damage had been reported, but some minor street flooding was observed around the lake.

Passengers flying above the waterspout recorded spectacular pictures from their windows.