Parts of the United States were digging out Saturday from winter storms that media reports said led to at least seven deaths, while warmer regions braced for potential flooding during the New Year’s travel period.
Hardest hit were parts of the northern Plains, the upper Midwest, and a southwestern region from Arizona to western Texas. As storm clouds moved east, they were set to bring heavy rain and probably flooding to the Gulf Coast, and both rain and freezing rain to New England.
One of the weather systems headed to the east comes from the Pacific Northwest and southern Canada, according to the Weather Channel. That system is comprised of bursts of snow and cold air.
The other is forming in a pool of abundant moisture, over the course of the New Year holiday, in the Ohio Valley and Northeast.
Headed into New Year’s celebrations, the South can expect heavy rains while the Northeast and upper Midwest can expect snow and bursts of cold air
Temperatures going into the New Year are expected to be around 20 to 30 degrees in parts of the Midwest and Rockies. In the east, Philadelphia is expected to remain in the upper 50s and low 60s. New York, breaking from the freezing temperatures the last time the ball dropped in Times Square, can expect to stay in the upper 40s and lower 50s
In the Dakotas and southern Minnesota, temperatures in the 30s and 40s into Sunday are expected to make most of the precipitation a rain-and-snow-mix until later that night. Colder air is expected to move in.
The bad weather started on Wednesday and doused North Dakota (pictured) in snow by Thursday
By Sunday afternoon or evening, the rain filled system will bring about heavy showers in the South.
Snow is expected to move from the Great Basin into the Rockies, before hitting the upper Midwest on Sunday night.
On News Year’s Eve, rain will move into the mid-South, Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic area while snow and cold air stay in the upper Midwest and Four Corners.
The lower Mississippi Valley could also expect severe thunderstorms.
By the end of the year, rain that could turn into light snow should be expected in parts of the Northeast.
Temperatures going into the New Year are expected to be around 20 to 30 degrees in parts of the Midwest and Rockies.
In the east, Philadelphia is expected to remain in the upper 50s and low 60s. New York, breaking from the freezing temperatures the last time the ball dropped in Times Square, can expect to stay in the upper 40s and lower 50s.
Flight tracker FlightAware reported more than 129 flight cancellations and 1,006 delays Saturday — down from more than 500 cancelations and 5,700 delays on Friday — as the winter storm hit north-central and Midwestern states with up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of snow.
This December 28, 2018 satellite image obtained courtesy of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows severe weather — heavy snow and high winds — in the US Midwest
In the southwestern state of New Mexico, forecasters called for up to 18 inches, with temperatures far below normal, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
Southeastern states braced for a deluge of rain, and millions in the South were warned of potential flooding.
Biloxi, Mississippi was soaked with five inches of rain. Tallahassee, Florida braced for three inches or more of rain just a week after being hit by eight inches, adding to fears of flooding, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
Hardest hit so far were parts of the northern Plains, the upper Midwest, and a southwestern region from Arizona to western Texas (pictured)
The weather contributed to several deaths during the week.
A 58-year-old woman in Louisiana was killed Wednesday when a tree struck by lightning fell on her home, according to TV station WDSU.
In Kansas, police said icy roads caused a fatal car crash Thursday on an interstate highway.
A crash Thursday involving a snowplow and a pickup truck in Dunn County, North Dakota, claimed the life of the 37-year-old truck driver, the Twin Cities Pioneer Press newspaper reported.
A man tries to remove snow from his sidewalk on Saturday in Thunder Bay
A 17-year-old boy in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was killed in a two-car collision that police blamed on icy roads, the Des Moines Register reported.
A woman on a camping trip in Tennessee died when she was swept away by flood waters while trying to cross a creek, CNN reported.
It said two people died in weather-related collisions in Minnesota, one when a pedestrian was struck by a snowplow blade in Crow Wing County amid poor visibility.
On News Year’s Eve, rain will move into the mid-South, Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic area while snow and cold air stay in the upper Midwest and Four Corners
The rain that will hit is expected to stay rain but could turn into light snow
Numerous roads were closed Thursday in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Kansas and Iowa, but by Saturday crews were making progress clearing affected areas.
TV channel KWCH in Wichita, Kansas said on Saturday that safe travel conditions had finally been restored across that state.
But the South Dakota Department of Transportation said warnings against travel remained in effect there.
‘Roads are icy, blowing snow is still limiting visibility,’ the agency said. ‘Crews are working but Mother Nature is making safe travel tough.’
NWS officials in Minnesota cautioned that roads were cloaked in snow, with some areas receiving as much as 16.5 inches
North Dakota on Friday lifted a no-travel advisory that had been issued for the entire east side of the state, even as drifting snow continued to frustrate drivers
North Dakota on Friday lifted a no-travel advisory that had been issued for the entire east side of the state, even as drifting snow continued to frustrate drivers.
NWS officials in Minnesota cautioned that roads were cloaked in snow, with some areas receiving as much as 16.5 inches.
The weather service predicted the treacherous weather would continue through the weekend in many parts of the country.
Winter weather advisories were in effect Saturday for northern Indiana and southern Michigan.
To the south, heavy rains were forecast in the central Gulf Coast, in the Florida Panhandle, and stretching east to the mid-Atlantic.
Not all of the country suffered, though. The capital Washington enjoyed blue skies and a temperature around 57F (14C) on Saturday.
Traffic jams up after a winter storm blanketed Santa Fe, N.M., with snow on Thursday