The country has already been hit by heavy rains and floods this week.
Tens of thousands of customers were still without power across the United States Thursday morning in the wake of deadly winter storms and with more severe weather approaching, leaving no time for relief.
As of 6 a.m. ET, more than 33,000 customers were without power in New York. 17,000 in Pennsylvania; 13,000 in North Carolina; 10,000 in New Jersey; and 9,000 in Vermont, according to data collected by PowerOutage.us.
Tuesday's powerful storm, which brought heavy snow and rain as well as tornadoes, killed at least five people across the country — one each in Alabama, Georgia, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Wisconsin, according to authorities.
The weather also caused several waterways to rise to dangerous levels, including Connecticut's Yantic River, which nearly broke its record by rising to more than 14 feet on Wednesday, prompting mandatory evacuations and threatening a dam failure. Most rivers in the Northeast, including the Yantic River, had begun to recede by Thursday morning, but some larger rivers such as the Passaic River in New Jersey continued to rise and were expected to crest later in the day.
More rain is expected in the Northeast Friday night into Saturday morning as another storm system sweeps across the country. An additional 1 to 2 inches of rain is expected, but localized amounts of more than 2 inches are possible, which will keep already full rivers high and could cause them to rise again to major flood stage.
The new storm has already dumped a few feet of snow on mountain ranges along the West Coast. One person was killed Wednesday in an avalanche at Palisades Tahoe Resort on the side of California's Lake Tahoe, marking the first avalanche death in the United States of the 2023-2024 winter season, according to authorities.
As the weather system moved into the Plains on Thursday, the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and watches from Nebraska to Michigan, including the major cities of Omaha, Nebraska; Des Moines, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; And Grand Rapids, Michigan. Snowfall totals could exceed 12 inches in some areas.
Meanwhile, severe weather with possible tornadoes is expected to continue Thursday night into Friday afternoon across the entire South, from Texas to the Carolinas. Areas that could see severe weather Thursday evening are east of Dallas, Texas; in Little Rock, Arkansas; Shreveport, Louisiana; And to Jackson, Mississippi.
The storm is expected to move southeast Friday afternoon, with the risk of severe weather extending from Alabama to Florida to the Carolinas. The major cities in the hurricane center are Montgomery, Alabama; Macon, Georgia; Columbia, South Carolina; and East Charlotte, North Carolina.
