January 2024

2024-01-10 08:10:00

(CNN) —An expansive storm that brings together nearly every winter weather threat is set to dump more snow and rain on the northeastern United States on Wednesday following hitting a large swath of the eastern U.S., knocking out power to several states and causing multiple rescues.

This is the most recent:

• Widespread blackouts amid sub-zero temperatures: According to poweroutage.us, almost 500,000 homes and businesses in the United States were without power this Tuesday night, more than 177,000 of them in New York. New York Governor Kathy Hochul expressed concern regarding the lack of power amid sub-zero temperatures.
• A deadly storm: At least four deaths have been reported in Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina as storms hit the states with strong winds and rain.
• More snow is on the way: Snowfall will begin to ease in the Midwest and Great Lakes this Wednesday, but the threat remains for parts of the interior Northeast and New England. Blizzard conditions are also expected to continue through Wednesday morning in the Northwest, bringing snow totals to several feet at higher elevations. “Snow levels will fall to 300-600 meters in elevation this Wednesday, resulting in considerable travel impacts for many mountain passes,” the National Weather Service warned.
• The fierce winds continue: More than 100 million people are under a wind alert from the Mississippi to the Southeast and the East Coast. “Strong winds gusting in excess of 88 km/h are likely to cause numerous power outages and moderate to significant coastal flooding in the Mid-Atlantic and New England,” the weather service said.
• Heavy downpours raise fears of flooding: Widespread heavy rainfall is likely to cause significant riverine and flash flooding from the western Carolinas to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with “numerous” flash floods possible from Virginia to southern New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island, the report said. National Metereological Service. According to the weather service, early this Wednesday several rivers in the eastern United States, including those in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, were already in flood status. In Maryland, municipal officials in Annapolis, the state capital, expected water levels to reach a “historic” level of 1.5 meters, officials said Tuesday.
• Rain in main cities: Several large metropolitan areas along the East Coast might experience flooding, including New York City and Philadelphia, where rainfall of 50 to 100 mm is possible.
• Hazardous driving conditions: Drivers in parts of New England and the interior Northeast might have a tough time on the roads, with up to a foot of snow and wind gusts of 88 km/h possible through Wednesday followingnoon. In Iowa, a section of Interstate 80 had to be closed Tuesday followingnoon due to white storm conditions that led to a multi-vehicle crash. In Kansas, regarding 30 people, including children, were stranded and had to be rescued from their vehicles and taken to a high school during Monday’s blizzard and snowstorm.
• Tornado reports and damage left: The storm has generated 23 reports of tornadoes in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina since Monday. In South Carolina, “significant damage” from a possible tornado was reported in the city of Bamberg, 100 kilometers south of Columbia, where the century-old City Hall building collapsed, according to city clerk-treasurer Robin Chavis.
• Canceled flights: More than 1,350 flights were canceled and more than 8,700 were delayed Tuesday, according to data from FlightAware. Some of them are due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9, but the thunderstorms caused significant disruptions at airports in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Florida and North Carolina.

A forecast model shows where heavy rain and snowfall is expected through Wednesday. (CNN Weather)

The Northeast prepares for rain and wind

Brian Henderson, right, and Josko Huljev of the Totowa Department of Public Works fill sandbags for residents of the New Jersey community on Tuesday. (Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com/USA Today Network)

Heavy, wet snow will fall in the highlands of the northeast this Wednesday morning, before gradually easing throughout the day.

“This snow will adhere to trees and power lines, which combined with wind gusts that might exceed 88 km/h, might cause power outages and scattered tree damage,” the National Weather Service said.

Although conditions are expected to gradually improve as the system moves away on Wednesday, rain and strong winds will persist into the followingnoon in the Northeast, the weather service said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the storm might be “life-threatening” and warned of last weekend’s potentially dangerous combination of rain and heavy snow.

“We don’t have time for restoration because they can’t get the bucket trucks up when the winds are still so strong,” Hochul said during an interview on CNN affiliate Spectrum News NY1.

Migrants are evacuated on school buses from tents at Floyd Bennett Field to a local high school in preparation for a storm Tuesday in Brooklyn. (Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

He said the Hudson Valley has a 70% chance of flash flooding.

“We were able to handle this weekend’s snow very well, but tomorrow’s storm is different and we are taking it very seriously,” Hochul said Monday night. The state is preparing more than 8,000 utility workers, four water rescue teams and dozens of massive generators, he said.

Suffolk County, New York, issued a state of emergency in preparation for the incoming storm. “Residents are strongly advised not to travel during the height of the storm. Road conditions are expected to be unsafe and wind gusts may down tree branches and power lines,” said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, in a statement on Facebook.

In the Northeast, Governor Phil Murphy announced a state of emergency for New Jersey in anticipation of potentially dangerous weather. And Mayor André Sayegh of Paterson, New Jersey, declared a state of emergency for the city starting at 5 p.m. local time this Tuesday, anticipating a “torrential downpour.”

Paterson was hit hard by a coastal storm last month, when several people were trapped in flooded vehicles and water rescues were carried out overnight.

“We have learned the lesson from a few weeks ago and, frankly, we want to assure residents that we are prioritizing their safety,” Sayegh said at a news conference Tuesday morning.

The approaching storm also caused the closure of schools and government offices in several states on Tuesday, including North Carolina and Florida, where more than 30 school districts have canceled classes.

The system will dissipate toward the end of the week, but relief is still not in sight for many people in the eastern United States. Another storm might follow on Friday and into the weekend, impacting many of the same areas.

A pedestrian navigates a snow-covered street in Iowa City, Iowa, on January 9, 2024. (Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Deaths in 3 states

As storms swept through the Southeast with dangerous winds and saturated the ground with rain, authorities reported several deaths in Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina.

A driver was found dead on a road in Jonesboro, Georgia, Tuesday morning following a tree fell and crushed the front windshield of a vehicle due to bad weather. The Clayton County Police Department told CNN that weather appears to be a factor in the death.

Another person died Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama, following a tree fell on a vehicle, according to Birmingham Fire and Rescue Capt. Orlando Reynolds.

Rescuers found the person dead in the car with the tree still on top Tuesday morning. The area had received more than 50 mm of rain that saturated the ground and the winds were blowing at more than 50 km/h on Tuesday.

More than 180 miles away, in Cottonwood, Alabama, an 81-year-old woman died during Tuesday’s storm, according to Houston County Commission Chairman Brandon Shoupe.

The woman was found dead following her mobile home rolled over several times, Shoupe said. Several buildings were damaged across the city and recovery efforts might last “many, many weeks,” Shoupe said.

In North Carolina, one person was killed and two others were seriously injured in a mobile home community in Claremont, regarding 45 miles northwest of Charlotte, according to Amy McCauley, communications director for Catawba County.

The National Weather Service is currently evaluating whether it was a tornado that hit the community, McCauley said.

Firefighters rescue a man in a car stuck in a flooded area in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday. (Credit: Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Florida declares state of emergency

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 49 of the state’s 67 counties on Tuesday, citing the danger of tornadoes, high winds, hail and flash flooding.

DeSantis said the state has experienced more than 20 tornado warnings so far and four confirmed tornadoes on the ground.

There have been some injuries but no deaths during the severe weather in North Florida, according to Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie.

Guthrie said most of the injuries reported so far have been minor. He said there were five “trauma alerts” in Bay County, where some of the most severe damage has been seen. Guthrie said one of those injuries was to the head.

First responders have rescued people from structures in Bay County, Florida, where multiple tornadoes hit the ground and caused significant damage and road closures, Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said. Ford urged residents to seek shelter.

A tornado watch was issued for parts of Florida, including Tampa and Orlando, home to more than 10 million people, until 9 p.m. ET, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

“An intense line of thunderstorms currently located in the eastern Gulf of Mexico will cross the central Florida peninsula this followingnoon,” the center said. They also noted the threat of some strong tornadoes along with the threat of damaging storm wind gusts of 70 miles per hour.

Blizzard conditions leave travelers stranded

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Blizzard conditions buried parts of the southern and central Plains of the United States under heavy snow and blistering winds on Monday, creating dangerous road conditions that stranded drivers, forced several road closures and at times , made rescues almost impossible.

“Visibility may drop below forty meters due to falling snow and wind. Blackout conditions are expected that will make travel dangerous and life-threatening,” the weather service warned Monday.

After Kansas Highway Patrol officers responded to hundreds of calls for help Monday, a spokesperson warned that increasingly severe conditions may prevent authorities from being able to rescue motorists.

“Please stay home,” the police officer said on social media. “We won’t be able to rescue you if you get stuck because we have trouble moving.”

Parts of Interstate 70 were also closed amid storm conditions and remained closed overnight, the Kansas Department of Transportation said Monday night.

Farther west in New Mexico, 50 drivers were stranded in a snowstorm on Highway 56 in northeastern Union County and had to be rescued, the local sheriff’s office said Monday.

Inland and coastal flooding pose significant risks

Flooding is a serious concern, as the storm’s strong winds carry water toward the coast as communities are inundated by rain.

“Widespread and potentially significant riverine and flash flooding is likely from the central Gulf Coast to much of the eastern U.S. early this week,” the Weather Prediction Center said Monday. “Powerful onshore winds will cause widespread coastal flooding along the eastern Gulf Coast and much of the Eastern Seaboard.”

There is also significant flooding concern in the Northeast with this next wave of rain coming on the heels of the first snowstorm that dropped more than 6 inches of snow in multiple Northeast states.

New York City issued a travel warning and flood watch beginning Tuesday night, warning of heavy rain, strong winds and the possibility of coastal flooding.

“I’ll be clear,” said Hochul at a press conference on Monday. “This will be an emergency, it will be serious, and we are urging all New Yorkers to exercise caution at this time.”

Heavy rain will accelerate snowmelt and increase the amount of water running into waterways, raising the ceiling on flooding potential in these areas.

— Dave Hennen, Mary Gilbert, Taylor Ward, Jennifer Feldman, Maria Sole Campinoti, Jennifer Henderson, Sara Smart, Rob Frehse, Jillian Sykes, Amanda Jackson Jamiel Lynch, Isabel Rosales, Wes Bruer, Chris Boyette, Gregory Wallace y Pete Muntean de CNN, contribuyeron a este informe.

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