A lot of the jap U.S. endured a renewed spherical of harsh, soggy climate on Saturday, with snowstorms predicted within the Northeast and heavy winds introduced the specter of tornadoes to the Mississippi Valley.
Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Arkansas have been beneath flood warnings, and residents have been warned by the Nationwide Climate Service to remain off roads. Elements of western Kentucky confronted as much as 8 inches of rain.
Gov. Andy Beshear preemptively declared a state of emergency in Kentucky, the place flash flooding was anticipated into Sunday. Flash flooding hit some roads Saturday in Bowling Inexperienced, Kentucky.
“We need to particularly put belongings in locations that flood and have flooded up to now,” Beshear mentioned on social media.
Images posted by authorities and customers on social media confirmed automobiles and buildings underwater in Warren County, Kentucky, and in Buchanan County, Virginia, the place the sheriff’s workplace mentioned a number of roads have been blocked by mudslides.
A flooded highway in Warren County, Kentucky, amid flash flooding. Feb. 15, 2025.
Warren County Sheriff’s Workplace
The Simpson County Workplace of Emergency Administration in Kentucky mentioned authorities carried out a number of rescues from stalled-out automobiles in floodwaters.
“Keep dwelling in case you can,” the workplace mentioned on Fb.
The climate service mentioned flash flooding was potential within the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys. In Tennessee, flash flood warnings have been issued for a lot of the center of the state via the night.
The Nationwide Climate Service known as the anticipated rain a “main, probably historic, flash flood occasion.”
In the meantime heavy snow was anticipated to blanket a lot of New England after which transition to sleet, making journey almost inconceivable. The heaviest accumulations — presumably a foot or extra — have been anticipated in upstate New York and parts of northern New England.
In northern New York, heavy blended precipitation was anticipated all through the weekend. CBS Information New York meteorologist Craig Allen mentioned New York Metropolis’s northwest suburbs may see 3 to 7 inches of snow adopted by freezing rain.
Harmful winter storms threatening tens of millions on each coasts
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“Energy outages and tree harm are doubtless because of the ice and robust winds. Journey could possibly be very tough to just about inconceivable, the NWS mentioned.
Snow and arctic temperatures swept a lot of the Midwest and Higher Plains, overlaying roads in jap Nebraska, northern Iowa and far of Wisconsin. Winter climate advisories have been issued for components of these states and Michigan, with as much as 4 inches of snow predicted all through Iowa, southern Wisconsin and most of Michigan by Sunday night.
Frigid polar vortex arrives Saturday
Meteorologists warn that the U.S. was about to get its tenth and coldest polar vortex stretching occasion this season, with the northern Rockies and northern Plains first in line. Climate forces within the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that normally stays close to the North Pole into the U.S. and Europe.
In Denver, the place temperatures have been anticipated to dip as little as 14 levels over the weekend, the town opened shelters for these residing on the streets.
Forecasters reported an inch of snow falling each hour simply north of Denver. In Boulder County, an unoccupied automobile that was caught within the snow after making an attempt to cross railroad tracks was struck Saturday afternoon and mangled by a practice. There have been no accidents, however authorities warned drivers about slick roads.
Within the Rocky Mountains, skiers longing for the lengthy Presidents’ Day weekend are already dealing with a closure on a bit of Interstate 70 as a result of snow as officers warn of hazardous circumstances on the mountain roads over the weekend.
The climate service additionally warned of utmost chilly within the Higher Plains over the approaching days, with wind chills starting from minus 30 levels to as little as minus 60 in components of western Montana, North Dakota, northern South Dakota and western Minnesota. Folks in these areas have been urged to remain indoors and make provisions to shelter livestock and different animals.
California struggles with mudslides
Dry climate returned to southern California after the strongest storm of the 12 months however the danger of rock and mudslides on wildfire-scarred hillsides continued Friday since harmful slides can strike even after rain stops, significantly in scorched areas the place vegetation that helps preserve soil anchored has burned away.
A automobile is dug out of the mud after a storm Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Sierra Madre, Calif.
Damian Dovarganes / AP
Water, particles and boulders rushed down the mountain within the metropolis of Sierra Madre on Thursday night time, trapping at the very least one automotive within the mud and damaging a number of dwelling garages with mud and particles. Bulldozers on Friday have been cleansing up the mud-covered streets within the metropolis of 10,000 individuals.
A storm within the Sierra Nevada mountains dumped 6 toes of snow over 36 hours. Two ski patrol employees from Mammoth Mountain have been caught in an avalanche throughout avalanche mitigation work Friday morning, the resort mentioned in a Fb put up. One was extracted and was responsive, whereas the opposite was taken to a hospital with critical accidents.