Powerful U.S. storms create blizzard conditions and threaten to spawn more tornadoes
ATLANTA — Powerful storms that killed three people in Mississippi and ripped roofs from buildings in a small Oklahoma town charged eastward Wednesday, spawning tornado warnings near the East Coast while heavy snow struck the Midwest and dry, windy weather fanned wildfires in Texas.
Meanwhile, forecasters warned that a Pacific storm was expected to bring widespread rain and mountain snow across California and other parts of the West from Wednesday into Friday.
Tornado warnings were issued in the Carolinas, Florida and Virginia on Wednesday. Officials in Union County, North Carolina, said in a social media post that they were assessing storm damage in the Unionville area and the weather service was expected to investigate whether a tornado touched down. No injuries were reported, officials said.
In Texas, high winds and dry vegetation fueled wildfires in several areas of the state. One burned at least 20 homes and structures in coastal San Patricio County near Corpus Christi, County Judge David Krebs said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The National Weather Service said critical fire weather conditions were still expected across south central Texas on Wednesday.
Severe weather threats persisted a day after stormy winds forced changes to Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, which moved up and shortened its two biggest parades.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday blamed severe weather for three deaths. WAPT-TV reported that in Madison County one person died from a falling power line, and another was killed by a tree falling on his car. A woman in Clarke County died when a tree limb fell on her outside her home, WLBT-TV reported.
At least seven confirmed tornadoes touched down Tuesday in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, according to preliminary information from the weather service. That number could increase Wednesday, with the potential for severe storms stretching from Florida to New York state, said Bill Bunting, deputy director of the agency's Storm Prediction Center.
“These storm systems not only have a warm side with severe thunderstorms, but a cold side that can have all forms of winter weather,” Bunting said. “And looking at the forecast maps, this is not the last storm that we’ll see in March.”
Blizzard conditions hit eastern Nebraska overnight into Wednesday, bringing around 4 inches of snow and winds up to 65 mph, limiting visibility and closing numerous snowy roads.
Parts of Minnesota and much of Iowa were on the waning side of a powerful winter storm. The storm brought the heaviest snow of the season to Minneapolis, where the weather service reported 7.4 inches at the airport. Other nearby communities reported a foot of snow or more.
“I wouldn’t want to say it’s unheard of or unusual. But it’s still pretty remarkable to see the power of nature with these storms,” National Weather Service meteorologist Jacob Beitlich said.
The slippery roads led to at least 70 crashes, the Minnesota State Patrol reported. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz authorized the National Guard to provide support and help rescue stranded drivers.
The Iowa State Patrol blamed whiteout conditions for 68 crashes from Tuesday night into Wednesday. They included a pileup on Interstate 35 outside Des Moines and numerous wrecks on Interstate 80.
“There’s this series of a whole bunch of small crashes, but it’s closing the interstate,” State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Alex Dinkla said. “Our officers are literally going car to car, and then cars are getting stuck on the roadway. They can’t move.”
In a South Carolina community near Myrtle Beach, where firefighters have been battling wildfires since the weekend, Horry County Fire Rescue said in a social media post that heavy winds would keep firefighters from responding to flare-ups and spot fires by air and from entering woods where damaged trees could fall.
The storms have left thousands of people without electricity Wednesday across the central and southeastern United States, including more than 69,000 homes and businesses in Texas, about 30,000 in Tennessee and about 24,000 in Alabama, according to PowerOutage.us.
Gusts in the northeast U.S. could also lead to ground stops or delays at major airports in that region, the Federal Aviation Administration said in its operational plan for the day. Nearly 600 flights scheduled to fly into or out of U.S. airports on Wednesday were canceled, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks cancellations and delays nationwide.
