Winter storms wreak havoc, causing deaths and power outages in US and Canada
At least four people have died and over half a million homes are without power after a series of powerful winter storms swept through parts of the eastern US and Canada.
Strong winds flipped cars and knocked over homes in Florida, where several tornadoes were reported. More than 1,300 flights in or out of the US were cancelled on Tuesday.
Vice-President Kamala Harris’ plane had to be diverted due to weather. A spokesperson for Mrs Harris said that “inclement weather” required her plane from Atlanta to land in Virginia rather than neighbouring Maryland on her way back to Washington DC.
As of Tuesday evening, more than 630,000 households in the eastern US, from Florida to New York State were without electricity.
Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 49 Florida counties, where storms have blown roofs off homes and knocked down power lines.
Twelve tornadoes were reported across Florida, Alabama, and Georgia by early Tuesday, causing significant damage and prompting search and rescue operations. More than 22 million people were under tornado watches.
In Houston County, Alabama, an 81-year-old woman was reportedly killed after a tornado ripped through the area, destroying mobile homes and RVs. In Claremont, North Carolina, one person was killed and two others were critically injured after a powerful storm moved through a mobile home park.
A motorist died in Clayton County, Georgia, after a tree fell across a highway and crushed the driver’s car. One man was also crushed to death by a toppled tree in Birmingham, Alabama, on Tuesday morning. The storms also left roadways impassable in Panama City, ripped roofs off of buildings, and brought hail the size of baseballs.
A curfew has been declared for Panama City’s downtown area until 06:00EST (11:00GMT) on Wednesday morning. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that more powerful storms are in store for the region and elsewhere in the eastern US.
Parts of Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina may see further strong tornadoes, bringing damaging wind gusts and hail. Along with winds of up to 50 mph (80 kph), heavy rain across other parts of the eastern US could bring flooding from the Florida Panhandle all the way north to southern Maine. In Canada, a winter storm warning has stretched from southern Ontario, near Windsor, up to central Quebec, where more than 1ft of snow is also forecast.
A powerful rare blizzard in the Pacific Northwest region toppled trees and knocked out electricity for over 25,000 customers in Washington state and for thousands more people further north in Canada’s British Columbia province. Snow and high winds closed mountain passages, shut down ferries, and triggered avalanche warnings.
In New Jersey, a coastal flood advisory is in effect until Wednesday. The state’s governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency and warned residents not to “underestimate” the storm. In New York State, Governor Kathy Hochul warned the storm could be “life-threatening”, especially as the expected rainfall would combine with the snow already blanketing the ground, bringing about potential flash-flooding.
Around 2,000 migrants living in a city tent shelter on an airfield in Brooklyn were evacuated by authorities to high school gymnasiums until the storms pass. A ground stop was briefly issued at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and for Florida’s Tampa International Airport due to weather conditions.
Severe weather has also disrupted road travel in states like Nebraska and Kansas, where state patrol has responded to hundreds of weather-related incidents.
The NWS said it expects the extreme weather to slightly ease going into Wednesday, though snow showers are still possible in some of the already affected areas in the central US and the northeast. Flood warnings issued by the NWS remained in effect on Wednesday morning from Louisiana to Maine, encompassing at least 15 states along the US Atlantic coast.