More than 304,000 US homes and businesses were still without power yesterday afternoon, after a weekend of wild winter weather that wreaked havoc from coast to coast – and the storms are not done yet. Millions of people across the country are bracing for more heavy snow and strong winds as the threat of devastating tornadoes lingers through the midwest.
“A busy weather pattern is expected to continue midweek with impacts throughout many regions of the country,” the National Weather Service said in a forecast on Monday, noting the continuation of frosty conditions and furious gusts. Parts of California could experience several feet of snow in the coming days, with 60mph winds.
Over the weekend, California was doused in snow and ice, leaving even low-lying areas dusted in white, to the delight and alarm of residents accustomed to more balmy conditions.
Deluges of rain battered the sodden state, causing cascades of water and rockslides down saturated hillsides, and flooding streets, while the blustery storm toppled trees and power lines, leaving thousands of Californians without heat as temperatures plummeted. The rare blast of wintry weather prompted blizzard warnings for the first time in the mountainous areas of San Diego county and the second time in Los Angeles county.
- What else has happened? At least 12 people were injured in Oklahoma as seven tornadoes tore through the state on Sunday night, and one person was confirmed dead. Emergency crews are surveying the damage as risks remain for more tornadoes across the Ohio valley through the evening.
Source: The guardian