A major winter storm has caused multiple deaths and widespread power outages across the United States. The National Weather Service reported a major winter storm in the West and river flooding across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, along with blizzard conditions in western Alaska. Winter Storm Finn is being blamed for flood concerns in the Northeast, starting numerous tornadoes in the south. Winter Storm Gerri is expected to take a similar track. Hundreds of thousands of people across the Northeast were without power, with over 120,000 in New York and 80,000 in Pennsylvania affected. Streets and roads were flooded, and rivers were rising in New Jersey after some areas received up to three inches of rain since Tuesday night.
In addition, northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine were experiencing heavy snow, while the South saw homes with blown-off roofs and debris strewn about during severe weather. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order to include 49 counties in North Florida under a state of emergency. Several people have reportedly died due to the storms, including an 81-year-old woman in Alabama, and another person in North Carolina. A tree fell on a man’s car south of Atlanta, killing him, while slushy highways led to the deaths of two men in Wisconsin and Michigan following separate collisions. Concerns over streams and rivers topping their banks are being addressed in several areas of Florida. The National Weather Service office in Tallahassee planned to send out three tornado survey teams to examine suspected tornado damage in Walton, Bay, and Jackson counties in Florida, as well as two more tornado survey teams to Houston County, Alabama, and Calhoun County, Georgia.
This story is developing, and readers are encouraged to refresh for updates.