East Coast Winter Storms: 4 Killed, Hundreds Of Flights Canceled And More Than 500,000 Homes Without Power

Topline Four people died Tuesday amid heavy storms battering the East Coast that have left more than half a million Americans still without power and many under flood warnings Wednesday. Cars make their way through flooding in Langley Park, Maryland, on January 9. Key Facts Powerful storms moved through the East Coast on Tuesday, with the New York Times reporting more than a third of the U.S.

population was under a wind advisory as of Tuesday night, while more than 25 million people between Virginia and Florida were under tornado watches into Tuesday evening. Strong winds battered the East Coast, with winds in Ocean County, New Jersey, reaching up to 72 miles per hour, and areas of New York City recorded more than five inches of rain.

More than 500,000 customers across the East Coast were still without power as of 5:30 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us , including nearly 150,000 in New York and more than 112,000 in Pennsylvania. Flooding has already been reported in areas such as Maryland and Virginia, but flood warnings continue to be in effect for many areas throughout Wednesday morning and even into Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Strong winds were expected to continue through early Wednesday morning in Long Island, New York City and coastal areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the National Weather Service reported Tuesday night. Four people were reported killed in the Southeast Tuesday due to the storms in that region, according to the Times : One person was killed at a mobile home park in Claremont, North Carolina; another was killed in Houston County, Alabama, when the 81 year old woman’s mobile home was lifted off its foundation; and two people were killed by falling trees in Clayton County, Georgia, and Birmingham, Alabama.

Crucial Quote “The worst time for flooding is right after the rain stops,” Virginia based National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Wilson told the Times on Tuesday. “It takes time for all the water to drain down.” Big Number 1,465. That’s the number of canceled flights within, into and out of the U.S.

on Tuesday, according to Flight Aware , up from 814 on Monday, while 9,135 were delayed. Flight issues are expected to continue Wednesday—with flights also being affected by the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft—with 637 flights already being reported as canceled as of 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Surprising Fact Among those affected by Tuesday’s storms was Vice President Kamala Harris, whose plane Air Force Two had to be diverted from Joint Base Andrews to Dulles International Airport due to the bad weather. The vice president was traveling back from Atlanta, and her flight landed safely. What To Watch For New England is expected to be affected by storms on Wednesday, the NWS projected early Wednesday morning, with “heavy rain capable of producing flooding” stretching from southern Maine to southern New England.

Up to three inches of rain are possible in southern Maine, and wind speeds could reach 60 mph in elevated areas. Heavy snow is also expected in areas of the western U.S. The NWS projects the Southeast will experience more storms later this week, with a risk of severe thunderstorms that could produce tornadoes on Friday in parts of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Further Reading Tornadoes, Blizzards, Floods: Severe Storms Hit Vast Sections of U.S. (New York Times) Deadly storms across the US deliver tornadoes, snow and flooding (BBC News) 4 Killed as Storms and Likely Tornadoes Tear Through Southeastern U.S. (New York Times) Deadly winter storm to unleash more snow, wind and rain in Northeast as power outages spread (CNN).