From tornadoes to blizzards, severe weather batters parts of the US

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Brandon Drenon

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Severe weather bringing everything from tornadoes and thunderstorms to blizzard conditions and snow is expected to stretch across the eastern US on Monday.

Over a dozen states were under a wind advisory on Monday morning, from Missouri to Maine, with tornado watches in place in parts of Florida, Alabama and Georgia.

As much as 2ft (0.6m) of snow has fallen in Wisconsin and northern Michigan since the storm began this weekend, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The bulk of the storm is expected to exit off the east coast into the Atlantic by Tuesday, with abnormally cold weather to continue in its wake.

Over 11 million people are under blizzard warnings, and another four million are under winter storm warnings, according to the BBC’s media partner CBS News.

On Monday morning, over 2,000 flights had been cancelled, and an additional 7,000 flights delayed, according to flightaware.com. By early afternoon, both numbers had more than doubled.

The bulk of the flight cancellations and delays were at Chicago’s O’Hare International airport and LaGuardia in New York.

More than 380,000 customers are without power, most of them in Michigan, with Ohio and Pennsylvania following second and third, respectively.

In Minnesota, over 20in (51cm) of snow fell in southeastern parts of the state by Sunday afternoon. More snow and strong winds are forecast for Monday.

“Whiteout conditions are expected and will make travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening,” the NWS said.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has authorised the state’s National Guard to support emergency operations, CBS News said.

Severe thunderstorms are expected in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia, where NWS has predicted hail and “a tornado or two possible”.

Tornado warnings were issued between 10:00 and 11:00 local time (14:00 and 15:00 GMT) in parts of northern Virginia. A similar warning was issued for parts of the Florida panhandle.

In North Carolina, where wind gusts on Monday were predicted to exceed 74mph (119km/h), Governor Josh Stein encouraged residents to enable emergency alerts on their phones.

Schools in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, North Carolina closed on Monday. Schools are also closed in some districts in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

In Washington DC, park officials announced that the Washington Monument will close early at 13:00 local time (17:00 GMT) as the storm draws closer.

“Beware of possible flash flooding, standing water, strong wind, lightning and hail,” the Park Police said in a statement on X.

A tornado watch in the US capital is in effect until 19:00.

Canadians are also facing severe weather on Monday, particularly in central Ontario and south-western Quebec. Forecasters in the region predict up to 20in of snow with wind speeds up to 49mph, warning of “near zero visibility” in some areas.

On the US west coast, an extreme heat watch is scheduled to go into effect for parts of southern California, Arizona and Nevada later this week.

Temperatures in southwest Arizona are expected to reach up to 109F (42C), where officials have warned of a “significant increase” in chance of heat related illness.

On Wednesday, Phoenix could have its earliest day of 100F-plus temperatures in nearly four decades.

The high temperatures and dry, windy pattern is also expected to increase wildfire danger across parts of the West and High Plains.

Over the weekend in Nebraska, roughly 30 National Guard troops were deployed to combat multiple wildfires, the state’s Emergency Management Agency said.

Nearly 1,000 sq miles (1,609 sq km) had already been damaged as of Saturday, the agency said. At least one fire-related fatality was reported.

A storm system that plagued Hawaii on Saturday, including flood watches and nearly 24in of rain in Maui, began to ease overnight on Sunday. A high wind warning remained in effect on Monday.

With its widespread impacts, forecasters say this could be one of the most significant weather events to hit the United States so far this year, potentially affecting roughly 200 million people across multiple states.

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