Snow storm chaos: Divers urged not to rescue abandoned cars as South begins recovery

by fellow troops as they help people get their stranded cars out of the snow in Atlanta, Georgia January 29, 2014. A rare ice storm turned Atlanta into a slippery mess on Wednesday, stranding thousands for hours on frozen roadways and raising questions about how city leaders prepared for and handled the cold snap that slammed the U.S. South.

By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Thursday took responsibility Thursday for the state’s slow response to a snowstorm that left people stranded for more than 24 hours on gridlocked interstates, and his top emergency management official said flatly: “I got this one wrong.”

Deal pledged to reporters that the state would be more aggressive in responding to future weather threats.

“I’m not going to look for a scapegoat,” he said. “I am the governor. The buck stops with me. I accept the responsibility for it, but I also accept the responsibility of being able to make corrective actions as they come into the future.”

He added: “We will take those weather warnings more seriously.”

Facing criticism over the city's response to an unusual winter storm, Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed said that while they did not have the experience to deal with the unusual weather, their efforts have made 80 percent of the city's roads passable.

Charley English, head of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said he had made a mistake by activating the state’s emergency response center six hours too late, long after the National Weather Service upgraded its winter storm alert for Atlanta on Tuesday morning.

“I made a terrible mistake, and I put the governor in an awful position,” he said.

Thousands of people were stuck, without food and water, on the interstates in and around Atlanta after the storm struck on Tuesday afternoon. Thousands of schoolchildren were also marooned overnight in their schools or on buses trapped on the road.

In Atlanta on Thursday, the National Guard helped people retrieve abandoned cars that littered the Atlanta interstates. Meanwhile, the mayor and governor struggled with the political fallout.

Mayor Kasim Reed assured people on Tuesday, in a message on Twitter before the snow began to fall: “Atlanta, we are ready for the snow.”

On Thursday, he acknowledged that authorities made a mistake by not staggering their orders for people to go home — schools first, then private businesses, then government employees. Instead, hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the interstates at the same time.

But Reed suggested, in a pair of interviews on NBC’s TODAY and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” that he was being unfairly blamed for traffic that clogged highways outside the city limits.

“I think we need to work much harder on coordination,” he said on MSNBC. But he stressed: “The highways are not the responsibility of the city.”

It was the latest episode of finger-pointing after the storm. On Wednesday, the governor infuriated meteorologists by calling the storm “unexpected” and saying that nobody “could have predicted “the degree and magnitude of the problem.”

In fact, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm alert for Atlanta at 3:38 a.m. on Tuesday, 12 hours before the worst of the traffic set in.

Daniel Shirey / Getty Images

Atlanta student David Hunter and his mother Demetra Dobbins walk up an exit ramp along I-75 North on Wednesday.

Cities in the North are much more accustomed to snowstorms, and in places like New York, powerful mayors have the single-handed authority to order salt-spreaders and plows onto the streets.

But the Atlanta area, as frustrated experts pointed out, is a patchwork of regional governments that often don’t get along with each other.

It also has a deeply ingrained car culture and a mass transit system that serves only a fraction of the metro area’s 5.5 million people. In 2012 voters across the region defeated a one-penny sales tax that would have strengthened regional transit.

After a snowstorm hobbled Atlanta in 2011, Reed, the Atlanta mayor, wrote in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had learned an important lesson about collaboration and cooperation.

“We will work faster and smarter to deliver the kind of response that our residents demand and deserve,” he wrote.

Asked on “Morning Joe” why authorities had not worked better together this time, he said: “I think that we all have responsibility.”

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This story was originally published on Thu Jan 30, 2014 2:46 PM EST

Christmas in the dark? Hundreds of thousands face holiday without power after ice storm

 over the weekend and ice storms ravaged parts of the Northeast, while record warm weather was reported along the east coast. NBC's Dylan Dreyer reports.By Alexander Smith and Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC NewsThousands of people faced the prospect of spending the holidays in the dark, after a huge ice storm knocked out power throughout the Midwest and New England.Almost 400,000 homes and businesses in Michigan, upstate New York and northern New England remained without electricity Monday morning after thick ice felled trees and brought down power lines, according to utilities companies.While lights came back on in upstate New York and Vermont, power companies in Michigan and Maine reported larger numbers of outages as the sun set on Monday.Brad Hoving, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, Mich. – the state with a bulk of the remaining power outages — said many people may still be using candlelight until Thursday."It's a big deal," Hoving told The Associated Press. "It's Christmas and we've just had a major ice storm."The Red Cross set up a shelter at Middleville, Mich., United Methodist Church, but Pastor Tony Shumaker said the crowd was getting too big and needed additional accommodations like showers, so they would be moving to a local school. Church members planned to cook a Christmas dinner and bring it to the school for people who were still without power on Wednesday, Shumaker said.Shumaker said regardless of the inconvenient timing of lost power, the people housed at the church “seem to be in pretty decent spirits, they’re glad to have a warm place to go to.”One of Michigan’s power providers, DTE, said crews were working “around the clock” and 90 percent of the 83,000 customers without electric would be restored by Christmas Eve.Stephanie Burnham, in Clarkston, Mich., was one of the luckier people who had their power restored."We had just finished making dinner and ... we cleaned everything up. Then our power went out, so we got all our candles and set up our generator," she told ClickOnDetroit.com."They told us it wouldn't be back until Christmas so we were like, 'Oh no all of our food!' But they did a great job."More than 1,000 utility workers from other companies and states headed to Michigan to help Consumers Energy customers out of the dark. Still, Consumers said more than 200,000 remained without power, and many areas in the southwest portion of Michigan would not have their electricity fully restored until after the holiday.“We might be spending Christmas at a middle school,” said Dawn Bishop, whose town of Dutton, Mich., lost power on Sunday. She said she was “a little nervous” about the possibility, but that she, her husband and her son — who is special needs — have been “taken care of very well” by the Red Cross. While Bishop’s Christmas plans remained uncertain, she stayed optimistic. “I’m sure we’ll be home by New Years,” she said.Michigan was hit with half an inch of ice over the weekend, said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “A quarter inch of ice is pretty damaging. When you talk about a half inch, that’ll take down trees and power lines,” Hurley said.By Monday morning, “you could skate down our road,” Bishop said.Heavy snowfall buried parts of the northern Midwest, with the heaviest covering coming in Larned, Kan., which saw over 15 inches. Mike Groll / APHeather Griffin, of Buffalo, N.Y., and her dog Sal walk beneath ice-covered trees on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, in Buffalo. Snow and ice knocked out power in parts of Michigan, New England and upstate New York over the weekend. The storm also saw some 1,200 U.S. flights canceled over the weekend and delayed another 15,000, according to the aviation-tracking website FlightAware.Nine deaths across the U.S. were blamed on the storm, the AP reported, including five people killed in Kentucky floodwaters and a woman in Arkansas following a 130-mph tornado.In Canada, an additional five people were killed in weather-induced highway accidents. While crews restored power to almost 100,000 Canadian customers on Monday, over 200,000 in Toronto were still in the dark, according to Toronto Hydro electric company.Elsewhere, New York City and Philadelphia saw record high temperatures, with shoppers taking to the streets in shirtsleeves. Still, temperatures would drop to seasonable levels by Tuesday.  “The front which was responsible for all of the precipitation has cold air behind it,” Hurley said.Kevin Roth, lead meteorologist at The Weather Channel, said on Monday the worst of the storm was over, save for “one last gasp” to trouble commuters in the Northeast trying to see their friends and families before Christmas.AAA predicted that a record-breaking 94.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more between Dec. 21 and Jan. 1."It will be a rough start to the week getting to grandma’s house," Roth told NBC News. "For anyone thinking of taking to the roads in the Northeast, based on the forecasts it would be better to leave it until Tuesday, when the weather is set to be a lot quieter."He said travel problems on Monday would be caused by a small amount of snowfall in northern Maine, around Caribou, as well as rain moving up from West Virginia to New England through the morning.Temperatures in Massachusetts are still right around freezing and the state could expect some freezing rain throughout the day.Other than that, Roth said, the weather would be quiet across the whole of the U.S. from Tuesday through the week.Hurley said last-minute travelers were fortunate that the extreme weather system made its way through the country over the weekend. “It’s going to be a pretty dry stretch here going into Christmas,” he said. On the downside, few would experience a white Christmas this year, Hurley said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Related:This story was originally published on Mon Dec 23, 2013 4:37 PM EST

35-state storm system creates kaleidoscope of weather, snarling holiday travel

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

A powerful storm system spawned rare December tornadoes in the South, dropped crippling ice and snow in the Midwest and brought unseasonably warm temperatures from the mid-Atlantic to New York City. Meteorologist Mike Seidel reports.

By M. Alex Johnson and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC News

Freezing rain, snow and ice swirling in and around unseasonably warm patches created a bizarre patchwork of weather conditions over dozens of states Sunday, wreaking havoc for millions of holiday travelers.

The massive storm, covering at least 35 states, carried a little bit of everything:

Heavy snow from Oklahoma to Wisconsin — as much as 10 inches predicted through Sunday.Flash flood watches across 11 states from Texas to New York.Ice storm warnings in parts of northern New England. Record highs in other parts of the Northeast.Possible tornadoes, with the highest risk Monday from Texas to Tennessee.

"What really worries me tornado-wise about this situation is one, people don't usually expect tornadoes in December," said Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel. "Two, they are going to be in some cases farther north than people expect."

The Midwest, meanwhile, was digging out from another major snow dump. Parts of Iowa had recorded 6 inches by 5 p.m. ET Sunday, and dangerously cold air was moving in behind it to lock in ice hazards.

With wind chills expected as low as minus-25 in some counties overnight, Alex Mihalakis and his 6 year-old-son, Jace, were out helping clear off sidewalks, cars and driveways in Dubuque for people who weren't able to get out.

"We can't buy anybody anything, so we decided to help them out with this snowfall," Mihalakis told NBC station KWWL of Waterloo.

Jeffrey Phelps / AP

A police officer tags a car that spun out Sunday along Highway 172 in Green Bay, Wis. A winter storm was wreaking havoc across several states over the weekend.

"We've had pretty poor weather conditions two weeks in a row leading up to Christmas," said Christopher Dolce, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel. "There's been a considerable amount of winter storm activity all the way back to the days before Thanksgiving and a lot of travel woes continuing into December."

About 665 flights had been canceled and 5,750 more had been delayed across the country at 9:30 p.m. ET Sunday, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware.com.

Many were in or out of major hubs like Houston's Bush International, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver International and Chicago's O'Hare Airport, where 136 flights had been canceled.

Get the latest weather news and your local forecast

The weather was suspected in at least eight deaths, including that of a driver who was killed Saturday afternoon on an icy road near Kansas City, Mo., police said, and two people in Mississippi who were killed as a result of gusty winds.

Five people also drowned in Kentucky, NBC station WLWT of Cincinnati reported — three in one vehicle in Bardstown, which became submerged in the Rolling Fork River, and another man in Carroll County, whose vehicle tipped over on top of him after getting stuck in a creek. A fifth body was recovered from an abandoned vehicle in a flooded ditch in Ballard County.

The large storm system surged into the Midwest on Friday. On Saturday night, a line of thunderstorms stretched from southern Louisiana to Indiana, and at least two suspected tornadoes hit Arkansas, injuring at least five people.

A man in Rena Lara, Miss., was killed Saturday when wind flipped his mobile home.

And another person died Saturday when the car he was driving struck a fallen tree in the road in Jasper County, Miss. A woman in the car was critically injured and taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, a major ice storm was barreling toward New York State and northern New England, knocking out power to thousands of customers. About 52,000 customers in upstate New York and 315,000 in Michigan were affected, utility officials said.

But balmy, warm weather was also moving ahead of the front, with other parts of the East Coast seeing highs in the 70s along with high humidity. New York City's Central Park hit a record 65 degrees Saturday.

The system created wildly swinging weather patterns almost county to county. In Bennington, Vt., the high reached 63 degrees Sunday, compared to 37 in Albany, N.Y. — only 40 miles west.

John Yang and Erik Ortiz of NBC News contributed to this report.

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This story was originally published on Sun Dec 22, 2013 10:42 PM EST

Christmas in the dark? Storm brings ice and outages to Midwest, Northeast

 The Midwest was hammered by deadly storms and flooding over the weekend and ice storms ravaged parts of the Northeast, while record warm weather was reported along the east coast. NBC's Dylan Dreyer reports.By Alexander Smith and Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC NewsThousands of people faced the prospect of spending the holidays in the dark, after a huge ice storm knocked out power throughout the Midwest and New England.Almost 400,000 homes and businesses in Michigan, upstate New York and northern New England remained without electricity Monday morning after thick ice felled trees and brought down power lines, according to utilities companies.While lights came back on in upstate New York and Vermont, power companies in Michigan and Maine reported larger numbers of outages as the sun set on Monday.Brad Hoving, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, Mich. – the state with a bulk of the remaining power outages — said many people may still be using candlelight until Thursday."It's a big deal," Hoving told The Associated Press. "It's Christmas and we've just had a major ice storm."The Red Cross set up a shelter at Middleville, Mich., United Methodist Church, but Pastor Tony Shumaker said the crowd was getting too big and needed additional accommodations like showers, so they would be moving to a local school. Church members planned to cook a Christmas dinner and bring it to the school for people who were still without power on Wednesday, Shumaker said.Shumaker said regardless of the inconvenient timing of lost power, the people housed at the church “seem to be in pretty decent spirits, they’re glad to have a warm place to go to.”One of Michigan’s power providers, DTE, said crews were working “around the clock” and 90 percent of the 83,000 customers without electric would be restored by Christmas Eve.Stephanie Burnham, in Clarkston, Mich., was one of the luckier people who had their power restored."We had just finished making dinner and ... we cleaned everything up. Then our power went out, so we got all our candles and set up our generator," she told ClickOnDetroit.com."They told us it wouldn't be back until Christmas so we were like, 'Oh no all of our food!' But they did a great job."More than 1,000 utility workers from other companies and states headed to Michigan to help Consumers Energy customers out of the dark. Still, Consumers said more than 200,000 remained without power, and many areas in the southwest portion of Michigan would not have their electricity fully restored until after the holiday.“We might be spending Christmas at a middle school,” said Dawn Bishop, whose town of Dutton, Mich., lost power on Sunday. She said she was “a little nervous” about the possibility, but that she, her husband and her son — who is special needs — have been “taken care of very well” by the Red Cross. While Bishop’s Christmas plans remained uncertain, she stayed optimistic. “I’m sure we’ll be home by New Years,” she said.Michigan was hit with half an inch of ice over the weekend, said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “A quarter inch of ice is pretty damaging. When you talk about a half inch, that’ll take down trees and power lines,” Hurley said.By Monday morning, “you could skate down our road,” Bishop said.Heavy snowfall buried parts of the northern Midwest, with the heaviest covering coming in Larned, Kan., which saw over 15 inches. Mike Groll / APHeather Griffin, of Buffalo, N.Y., and her dog Sal walk beneath ice-covered trees on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, in Buffalo. Snow and ice knocked out power in parts of Michigan, New England and upstate New York over the weekend. The storm also saw some 1,200 U.S. flights canceled over the weekend and delayed another 15,000, according to the aviation-tracking website FlightAware.Nine deaths across the U.S. were blamed on the storm, the AP reported, including five people killed in Kentucky floodwaters and a woman in Arkansas following a 130-mph tornado.In Canada, an additional five people were killed in weather-induced highway accidents. While crews restored power to almost 100,000 Canadian customers on Monday, over 200,000 in Toronto were still in the dark, according to Toronto Hydro electric company.Elsewhere, New York City and Philadelphia saw record high temperatures, with shoppers taking to the streets in shirtsleeves. Still, temperatures would drop to seasonable levels by Tuesday.  “The front which was responsible for all of the precipitation has cold air behind it,” Hurley said.Kevin Roth, lead meteorologist at The Weather Channel, said on Monday the worst of the storm was over, save for “one last gasp” to trouble commuters in the Northeast trying to see their friends and families before Christmas.AAA predicted that a record-breaking 94.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more between Dec. 21 and Jan. 1."It will be a rough start to the week getting to grandma’s house," Roth told NBC News. "For anyone thinking of taking to the roads in the Northeast, based on the forecasts it would be better to leave it until Tuesday, when the weather is set to be a lot quieter."He said travel problems on Monday would be caused by a small amount of snowfall in northern Maine, around Caribou, as well as rain moving up from West Virginia to New England through the morning.Temperatures in Massachusetts are still right around freezing and the state could expect some freezing rain throughout the day.Other than that, Roth said, the weather would be quiet across the whole of the U.S. from Tuesday through the week.Hurley said last-minute travelers were fortunate that the extreme weather system made its way through the country over the weekend. “It’s going to be a pretty dry stretch here going into Christmas,” he said. On the downside, few would experience a white Christmas this year, Hurley said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Related:This story was originally published on Mon Dec 23, 2013 4:37 PM EST

System neglected and huge storm Snarls holiday travel

A powerful storm system generated rare December tornado outbreak in the South, fallen crushing ice and snow in the Midwest and brought unusually warm temperatures from the Atlantic to the city of New York. Advises the meteorologist Mike Seidel.By M. Alex Johnson and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC NewsIcy rain, snow and ice jostling in and around patches unusually warm created a bizarre mosaic of weather conditions over dozens of States Sunday, wreaking havoc for millions of holiday travelers.The massive storm, covering at least 35 States, took a little bit of everything:Heavy snow from Oklahoma to Wisconsin - both about 10 inches predicted through Sunday.Flash flood watches in 11 States from Texas to New York.Ice warnings of storm in parts of Northern New England. Record in other parts of tornado Northeast.Possible, with the greatest risk on Monday from Texas to Tennessee."What really worries me about this tornado-wise situation is one, people do not usually expect tornadoes in December," said Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel. "Two, going to be in some cases further north that people expect."The Midwest, meanwhile, was out another major snow dump. Parts of Iowa had recorded 6 inches by 5 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, and dangerously cold was moving behind him to block on the dangers of ice.With wind chills as low as minus-25 in some counties of waiting overnight, Alex Mihalakis and its 6 anos-viejo - son, Jace, were helping to clear sidewalks, cars and driveways in Dubuque for people who could not leave."We can buy anyone anything, so we decided to help them with this Nevada," said Mihalakis NBC KWWL of Waterloo Station.Jeffrey Phelps / APA police officer key a car that split on Sunday along the highway 172 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A winter storm was causing havoc through several States during the weekend."We have had very bad conditions weather two weeks before Christmas," said Christopher Dolce, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel. "There has been a considerable amount of winter storms all the way back to the days before Thanksgiving and lots of travel woes continuing in December."About 665 flights had been cancelled and 5,750 more were delayed across the country at 9:30 P.M. on Sunday, according to the aviation FlightAware.com tracking website.Many were inside or outside of major centres and international of Houston Bush International, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver and Chicago or ' Hare Airport, where 136 flights had been cancelled.Get the latest news of the time and your local forecastThe weather was suspected in at least eight dead, among them that of a driver who was killed on Saturday afternoon on an icy Highway near Kansas City, Missouri, police said, and two people in Mississippi who died as a result of hurricane force winds.Five people were also drowned in Kentucky, Cincinnati NBC station WLWT reported - three in a car in Bardstown, which came to be submerged in the Rolling Fork River and another man in Carroll County, whose vehicle overturned on top of him after being trapped in a stream. A fifth body was recovered from a vehicle abandoned in a ditch flooded in Ballard County.The system of large storms arose in the Midwest on Friday. On Saturday night, a line of storms extended from southern Louisiana to Indiana, and at least two suspected tornadoes hit Arkansas, injuring at least five people.A man in Rena Lara, Mississippi, was killed Saturday when wind capsized his mobile home.And another person died on Saturday when it hit a tree fallen on the highway in Jasper County, losing the car driving. A woman in the car was critically wounded and taken to hospital.Meanwhile, a great ice storm was running towards the State of New York and Northern New England, knocking out power to thousands of customers. Some 52,000 customers in New York and 315.000 in Michigan were affected, utility officials said.But the climate is temperate and warm was also to stay ahead of the front, with other parts of the coast this seeing highs in the 70s along with high humidity. New York Central Park hit a record of 65 degrees on Saturday.The system created wildly swings the patterns of the weather almost from County to County. In Bennington, Vermont, the high reached 63 degrees on Sunday, compared with 37 in Albany, New York - only 40 kilometers to the West.John Yang and Erik Ortiz of NBC News contributed to this report.Related:This story was originally posted on Sunday, December 22, 2013 10:42 PM EST

Snow, sleet and commuter chaos as winter storm pounds Northeast

 La tormenta de invierno mortal que dejó hasta un pie de nieve en el noreste y medio oeste arrojan las carreteras y los planes de vuelo, informa Paul Goodloe del canal meteorológico. Dylan Dreyer hoy pronostica entonces cómo el tiempo afectará a viajar el lunes.Por Alastair Jamieson y Daniella Silva, NBC NewsNieve, aguanieve y lluvia helada que plantea un peligro para los automovilistas en Nueva Inglaterra el domingo como una fuerte tormenta que se trasladó desde el medio oeste al noreste apedrearon la región con fuertes nevadas, obstaculizando los planes de viaje para los compradores de fin de semana y potencialmente para viajeros de lunes.Casi un pie de nieve se reportó en partes del centro de Pensilvania Sábado tarde como la expansión tormenta se movió hacia el este a Nueva Inglaterra, donde el servicio meteorológico nacional advirtió que Maine podría ver condiciones cerca-ventisca el domingo debido a nevadas y fuerte vientos antes de la tormenta se mueve hacia fuera.El domingo por la tarde, 17 pulgadas de nieve había acumulado en la costa sur de Maine, mientras que Massachusetts norte tiene 11 pulgadas y hasta 8 pulgadas cayó en partes de Rhode Island, según el servicio meteorológico nacional.Gunther CJ / EPAUna intensa nieve cae sobre las montañas arboladas en Lake Placid, Nueva York, 15 de diciembre de 2013.Cinco centímetros de nieve cayó en sábado de Central Park de Nueva York mientras que partes de Connecticut, Nueva York y norte de Nueva Jersey tiene siete pulgadas, dijo el servicio meteorológico nacional.La ciudad de Nueva York Departamento de saneamiento dijo que tenían los equipos arar toda la noche el sábado al domingo e instó a los residentes para raspar y sal sus aceras por último domingo por la mañana.El sol y temperaturas en los años 40 el domingo probablemente derretiría la acumulación, pero bajas temperaturas durante la noche en el lunes sería volver a congelar el escurrimiento, hace las condiciones resbaladizas el lunes por la mañana, según los meteorólogos de la NBC de Nueva York. Otra ráfaga de nieve o lluvia está prevista en Nueva York otra vez el martes, creando más hielo en las aceras y caminos.Entre la nieve más alta totales registrados fue en Unión, Connecticut, que recibió 9,5 pulgadas, meteorólogo Ryan Hanrahan dijo NBC Connecticut.Hanrahan dijo carreteras de Connecticut fueron especialmente hábil domingo por la mañana debido a la lluvia helada durante la noche, pero 632 camiones estatales se dedicaban a limpiar, según Connecticut del Departamento de transporte.Caminos podrían permanecer Galán durante el viaje de lunes por la mañana ya que la solución de agua salada dependen de equipos simplemente congelaría, según Kevin Nursick, portavoz en el punto del estado.Metro-North railroad, dijo en su página web puede reducir o suspender el servicio de Connecticut a Nueva York para evitar complicaciones de frenos congelados, interruptores y señales, dejando a viajeros con pocas opciones del lunes por la mañana.Mientras la mayoría de las áreas que se atropelle nevadas el sábado tiene un descanso el domingo y una oportunidad para descongelar, "un último golpe" fue debido en el norte de Nueva Inglaterra mientras el sistema se mueve hacia el este de Canadá por la tarde, según el servicio meteorológico nacional.6 A 12 pulgadas de más nieve se esperaba en partes de Massachusetts el domingo, seguido de aguanieve y lluvia helada después de amanecer, informó The Associated Press. 4 A 8 pulgadas eran posibles en Boston.Trece centímetros de nieve cayeron en la zona de esquí de Mount Sunapee en Newbury, N.H. el domingo por la mañana, llevando a una afluencia de esquiadores emocionados, según la AP.¿Cómo es el clima en su área? Muéstranos tus fotos de tormenta de nieve añadiendo #MySnowPics a tu tweet o Instagram post, o subir tus fotos directamente haciendo clic en el cuadro de abajo.Vea nuestra galería de imágenes enviadas por los lectores Pero las condiciones de deporte de invierno gran viajes males. Múltiples accidentes fueron registrados en carreteras en todo el medio oeste y noreste el sábado debido a la tercera ronda de clima invernal en un lapso de siete días, con un alambique de semana antes de la llegada oficial del invierno.Las autoridades advirtieron a los conductores en Massachusetts para viajar sólo si es necesario el domingo y dijeron que los conductores deben dejar suficiente espacio entre vehículos y muy por debajo del límite de velocidad, según The Weather Channel.La patrulla de caminos del estado de Missouri confirmado tres muertes atribuidas al clima invernal reciente. Lo dijo que una mujer de 79 años de edad del Condado de St. Louis murió en un accidente el viernes, en el cual un 28-year-old resultó también gravemente herido. Un hombre de 80 años de edad del Condado de Henry murió cuando su auto se deslizó en un árbol del sábado por la mañana, y un hombre de 44 años fue declarado muerto en la escena de un accidente causado por el tráfico incurrido por otro accidente en el Condado de Lawrence en la tarde del viernes.Matt Campbell / EPABob Agnew utiliza un soplador de nieve para despejar la nieve desde su entrada en Norfolk, Massachusetts el domingo, 15 de diciembre como rápida bajada de las temperaturas empieza a congelar la nieve húmeda.Policía estatal de Michigan estaban investigando un accidente fatal de relacionados con el clima, en el que el conductor perdió el control y golpeó la mediana en una carretera sábado temprano por la mañana, según el teniente Michael A. Shaw.Recién fue asesinado cuando dejó a su esposa en su vehículo para ayudar a una mujer cuyo auto se deslizó en la nieve y en una carretera en Indiana. El buen samaritano y la mujer estaba ayudando estaban de pie al lado de la carretera cuando tres coches chocó contra ellos en las condiciones heladas, matándolos a ambos, según NBC Chicago.Una ambulancia de Pennsylvania apenas evitó un desastre el viernes por la mañana, informó NBC Philadelphia, cuando un trozo de hielo golpeó y rompió su parabrisas.Transporte aéreo también se vio afectado como airlines cancelaron más de 1.000 vuelos el sábado, en su mayoría en el noreste y medio oeste, según FlightAware, un sitio web que rastrea las aerolíneas comerciales. Un adicional 2.653 vuelos fueron retrasados, dijo.Más de 360 vuelos habían sido cancelados dentro y fuera de Newark Liberty International Airport solo el sábado. Chicago o ' Hare International Airport canceló más de 180 vuelos.El domingo, cancelaciones de vuelos violado los 300 por la mañana, según FlightAware.Kathy Grannis, vocera de la Federación Nacional de minoristas, dijo a la Associated Press que muchos consumidores voluntad probable tienda de regalos de Navidad en línea más valientes las difíciles condiciones.Algunos compradores en Massachusetts seguían decididos a pesar de la advertencia de condiciones climáticas extremas. "Es la temporada tienes que salir y hacer tus compras. Shopper vacaciones Nathan Foss "es sólo unas pocas ráfagas así que no me molestó, dijo afiliado del NBC WHDH.La Associated Press contribuyeron con este reporte.Esta historia fue publicada originalmente en domingo, 15 de diciembre de 2013 6:01 PM EST

Big storm pelts Midwest and Northeast with 'wintry mix' of snow, ice

 A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is blanketing the northeast, from Missouri to Maine. The massive storm is stretching between 23 states. NBC's Kristen Dahlgren reports. A strong storm pelted the Midwest and Northeast with heavy snow on Saturday, with some areas already seeing a foot on the ground and forecasts predicting that up to 20 states and 70 million people will feel its polar conditions through the weekend.The National Weather Service forecast “a wintry mix of precipitation” including snow, sleet and freezing rain flowing from the Midwest into the Northeast this weekend.Parts of New England could see up to a foot by the time the front pulls out early Sunday and ushers in high winds that could be a hazard of their own. Up to 14 inches could fall in coastal towns in Maine. By late morning Saturday, the winter storm was producing snow over parts of Illinois, Indiana, Northern Ohio, with portions of West-Central Indiana already seeing 11 inches of snowfall, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Christopher Dolce.  Areas west of St. Louis were forecast to see 6 to 7 inches and the Chicago area was looking at 2 to 4 inches.“Eventually that snow is going to end by this evening and the snow will pick up in the Northeast as the afternoon goes on,” Dolce said.New York City had also seen an “initial burst” of snowfall with heavier levels predicted throughout the region into the afternoon and evening, Dolce said. On Saturday night that snow would change to sleet, followed by freezing rain, he said.The “quick-hitter” storm, Dolce said, would stretch as far as Maine by Sunday.Dolce said interstate travel could be affected, with interstate roads in Illinois, Indiana and parts of Missouri “snow packed.” How's the weather in your area? Show us your snowstorm photos by adding #MySnowPics to your tweet or Instagram post, or upload your pictures directly by clicking the box below.See our gallery of images submitted by readers “Until those are plowed away there’s going to be some rough travel,” he said.The Missouri State Highway Patrol has confirmed three fatalities attributed to the recent winter weather. The agency said a 79-year-old woman from St. Louis County died in a crash on Friday night and an 80-year-old man from Henry County died when his car slid into a tree Saturday morning. Details of the third incident were not immediately available. After dumping several inches of snow across the east, meteorologist Janet Huff explains what's next for this winter storm. Air travel was also affected as airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights on Saturday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks commercial airlines. There were an additional 2,653 flight delays, it said.Over 360 flights had been canceled in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport alone on Saturday. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport canceled more than 180 flights.The Federal Aviation Administration announced that a Traffic Management Program was in effect in several airports due to snow and ice, causing delays. At New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, weather was causing some arrival flights to be delayed an average of one hour and four minutes, the FAA said, and arriving flights at Chicago’s O’Hare airport were delayed an average of 52 minutes.The storm could also impact commerce, Dolce, said with the snow stopping some holiday shoppers in their tracks.   Matt Nighswander / NBC NewsSnow falls on skaters Saturday morning in New York's Rockefeller Center.Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, told the Associated Press that many consumers will likely shop online rather than brave the difficult conditions.Winter storm warnings were in effect Saturday for parts of Northern and Eastern New York, near Albany, Central and Eastern Pennsylvania, a considerable portion of both Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as essentially all of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Winter storm advisories were in effect for pars of Michigan, Indiana, Cleveland and New York City.The snow is adding to already blustery conditions in much of the Northeast.A Pennsylvania ambulance narrowly avoided a disaster on Friday morning, NBC Philadelphia reported, when a chunk of ice struck and cracked its windshield.The Central Bucks Ambulance and Rescue Unit was transporting a patient northbound on York Road in Buckingham around 11:37 a.m. when a tree-trimming truck covered in snow passed the ambulance heading southbound, sending “substantial” chunks of ice flying towards the ambulance. Central Bucks Ambulance and RescueAn ambulance in Buckingham, Pa., was struck by a chunk of ice while transporting a patient. "It was scary," said Scott Henley, deputy chief paramedic who was driving the ambulance, told NBC Philadelphia. "Luckily I saw it coming and I was able to at least have a couple seconds to figure something out."The damage forced Henley to pull the unit over and wait for a second ambulance to arrive to continue the transport."Luckily the patient wasn't in any severe distress," he said.The accident came just days after the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission issued a reminder to drivers to clear snow and ice from their cars, NBC Philadelphia reported.Parts of Central Pennsylvania up through much of New York State upstate could see from 5 to 12 inches of snow.Northern and Western Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine could see anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of snow.Urban areas could see several inches of snow, according to the Weather Channel. Philadelphia was forecast to receive 1 to 3 inches; St. Louis, Indianapolis, and New York City were forecast to see 3 to 5 inches and Boston was in for 5 to 8 inches.Dolce said most states should see some relief from the wintry blast by the weekend’s end, with the remnants of system lingering in Maine through Sunday afternoon.The Associated Press contributed to this report.  Nam Y. Huh / APA woman carries her luggage on the sidewalk on Saturday in Evanston, Ill. This story was originally published on Sat Dec 14, 2013 11:22 PM EST

Tornado warning as storm rips through Palm Coast, Florida

 By Alastair Jamieson and Justin Kirschner, NBC NewsOfficials on Sunday confirmed it was a tornado that caused “major damage” to several homes and brought down power lines in Palm Coast, Florida, late Saturday, officials said.One resident reportedly witnessed the roof being ripped from his home, according to Cindy Lane, spokeswoman for the City of Palm Coast.A tornado warning was issued, but there were no reports of injuries. More than two thousand homes were without power on Saturday night. The National Weather Service on Sunday afternoon confirmed that a tornado touched down in the Indian Trails neighborhood Saturday night.  The 25-75 yard wide tornado was given a preliminary rating of strong EF1, with evidence of winds as high as 110 mph, officials said.Six or seven homes sustained "major damage" in the severe storm, which struck at about 7 p.m. ET Saturday, Lane said. Twenty-two houses had moderate damage and 142 were partially damaged, officials said.A holiday parade in the city was canceled just before the tornado struck.There are reports of debris in most areas as well as trees and power lines down in much of the local area, according to NBC affiliate in Orlando, WESH.Local resident Meredith Hollister told WESH that residents got a tornado warning on her cellphone, and they took cover in the bathroom until the storm passed.

Sleet, freezing rain and blizzard warnings as winter storm pounds Northeast

 The deadly winter storm that dumped up to a foot of snow across the Northeast and Midwest is snarling roads and flight plans, the Weather Channel's Paul Goodloe reports. TODAY's Dylan Dreyer then forecasts how the weather will affect Monday's commute.By Alastair Jamieson and Daniella Silva, NBC NewsSnow, sleet and freezing rain  posed a hazard for motorists in New England Sunday as a strong storm that moved from the Midwest to the Northeast pelted the region with heavy snow, hampering travel plans for weekend shoppers and potentially for Monday commuters.Nearly a foot of snow was reported in parts of central Pennsylvania late Saturday as the sprawling storm moved eastward into New England, where the National Weather Service warned Maine could see near-blizzard conditions Sunday due to heavy snow and strong winds before the storm moves out.By Sunday afternoon, 17 inches of snow had accumulated on the southern coast of Maine, while northern Massachusetts got 11 inches and up to 8 inches fell in parts of Rhode Island, according to the National Weather Service. CJ Gunther / EPAA heavy snow falls on the tree covered mountains in Lake Placid, New York, Dec. 15, 2013. Five inches of snow fell in New York City’s Central Park Saturday while parts of Connecticut, New York and northern New Jersey got seven inches, the National Weather Service said.The New York City Department of sanitation said they had crews plowing all night Saturday into Sunday and urged residents to scrape and salt their sidewalks by late Sunday morning.Sun and temperatures in the 40s on Sunday would likely melt the buildup, but low temperatures overnight into Monday would refreeze the runoff, making for slick conditions Monday morning, according to NBC New York meteorologists. Another blast of snow or rain is predicted in New York again on Tuesday, creating more ice on the sidewalks and roads. Among the highest snow totals reported was in Union, Conn., which received 9.5 inches, meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan told NBC Connecticut.Hanrahan said roads in Connecticut were especially slick Sunday morning due to freezing rain overnight, but 632 state trucks were dedicated to clean-up, according to Connecticut’s Department of Transportation.Roads could remain slick during the Monday morning commute since the saltwater solution crews rely on would simply freeze, according to Kevin Nursick, spokesman at the state DOT.Metro-North railroad said on its website it may reduce or suspend service from Connecticut to New York to avoid complications from frozen brakes, switches and signals, leaving commuters with few options Monday morning.While most of the areas that got hit by heavy snowfalls on Saturday got a break on Sunday and a chance to thaw out, “one last punch” was due in northern New England as the system moves toward eastern Canada by evening, according to the National Weather Service.Six to 12 inches of further snow were expected in parts of Massachusetts Sunday, followed by sleet and freezing rain after daybreak, The Associated Press reported. Four to 8 inches were possible in Boston.Thirteen inches of snow fell in the Mount Sunapee ski area in Newbury, N.H. by Sunday morning, leading to an influx of excited skiers, according to the AP.How's the weather in your area? Show us your snowstorm photos by adding #MySnowPics to your tweet or Instagram post, or upload your pictures directly by clicking the box below.See our gallery of images submitted by readers But great winter sport conditions bring travel woes. Multiple accidents were reported on roadways throughout the Midwest and Northeast Saturday due to the third round of wintry weather in a seven-day span, with a week still to go before winter's official arrival.Authorities cautioned drivers in Massachusetts to travel only if necessary on Sunday and said those drivers should leave plenty of space between vehicles and drive well below the speed limit, according to The Weather Channel.The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed three fatalities attributed to the recent winter weather. It said a 79-year-old woman from St. Louis County died in a crash on Friday night, in which a 28-year-old was also seriously injured. An 80-year-old man from Henry County died when his car slid into a tree Saturday morning, and a 44-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene of an accident caused by traffic incurred by another accident in Lawrence County on Friday afternoon. Matt Campbell / EPABob Agnew uses a snow-blower to clear snow from his driveway in Norfolk, Massachusetts on Sunday, Dec. 15 as rapidly falling temperatures begin to freeze the wet snow.Michigan State Police were investigating a fatal weather-related crash, in which the driver lost control and struck the median on a highway early Saturday morning, according to Lt. Michael A. Shaw.A newlywed was killed when he left his new wife in their vehicle to help a woman whose car slid in the snow and off a road in Indiana. The good Samaritan and the woman he was helping were standing on the side of the road when three cars crashed into them in the icy conditions, killing them both, according to NBC Chicago.A Pennsylvania ambulance narrowly avoided a disaster on Friday morning, NBC Philadelphia reported, when a chunk of ice struck and cracked its windshield.Air travel was also affected as airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights on Saturday, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks commercial airlines. An additional 2,653 flights were delayed, it said.Over 360 flights had been canceled in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport alone on Saturday. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport canceled more than 180 flights.On Sunday, flight cancellations breached the 300s by the morning, according to FlightAware.Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, told the Associated Press that many consumers will likely shop for holiday gifts online rather than brave the difficult conditions.Still, some shoppers in Massachusetts remained determined despite the warning of extreme weather. "It's the season so you gotta come out and do your shopping. It's only a few flurries so it didn't bother me," holiday shopper Nathan Foss told NBC affiliate WHDH.The Associated Press contributed to this report.This story was originally published on Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:01 PM EST

Tornado confirmed as storm passes through you Palm Coast, Florida

By Alastair Jamieson and Justin Kirschner, NBC NewsOfficials on Sunday confirmed it was a tornado that caused "significant damage" to several houses and brought down power lines in Palm Coast, Florida, Saturday afternoon, officials said.A resident allegedly witnessed the roof being ripped out of his house, according to Cindy Lane, spokesman for the city of Palm Coast.A tornado warning was issued, but there were no reports of injuries.More than 2,000 homes were without power Saturday night.The national weather service on Sunday evening confirmed that a tornado landed in the Indian district trails on Saturday night.  25-75 Large tornado yard was given a preliminary rating of strong EF1, with evidence of winds of 110 mph, officials said.Six or seven homes suffered "major damage" in the severe storm, which attacked about 7 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, said Lane. Twenty-two houses had moderate damage and 142 were damaged partially, officials, he said.A holiday in the city parade was cancelled just before the tornado hit.Reports of waste in most areas as well as trees and power lines down there in much of the area, according to NBC affiliate in Orlando, WESH.Local resident Meredith Hollister told WESH that residents have a tornado warning on your cell phone, and took cover in the bathroom until the storm had passed.

Another winter storm wallops West as freeze Frost dominate much of the rest of the nation

A winter storm is bringing snow, ice and rain in the central part of the country, resulting in thousands of frost canceled flights.  What's next for this brutal system time? Reports Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel.By Daniella Silva and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC NewsWinter storm that Dion is expected to reach vast areas east of the Rockies on Sunday, after hundreds of thousands of people in Texas and Arkansas without power."What is happening in most of the country is that we leave with a very early taste of winter," said Mike Muscher, a meteorologist for the national weather service, told Reuters. "This is something that you would typically see in January or February."At the height of the storm, reported some 267,000 power outages in Texas, according to utility Oncor. That number was up to about 75,000 late Saturday, and Oncor said it hoped to restore power to "almost all" of its customers by Sunday night.Tony Gutierrez / APIce covered vehicles sit on a lot of automotive dealership Saturday in Lewisville, Texas.The wave of icy and dangerous weather extended eastward of Virginia and New England on Sunday until Monday. New York City Health Department issued a "snow alert" for Sunday.Expected snow along the mid-Atlantic, followed by sleet and freezing rain create "slippery travel conditions and the possibility of power outages," said Chris Dolce, a meteorologist at the Weather Channel."Travel delays are probably the biggest human impact", said. "If you're in an affected area, remain indoors. Don't risk travelling if you don't have that. "Wait until the roads treated and cared for".In Virginia, spokesman for State Emergency Management Laura Southard said that the storm had the potential to be an "historic event of ice".Southard "this forecast is very worrying for us," told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I have worked several disasters, but I've never worked with a forecast so an ice storm. It is very important for everyone to take extra precautions".According to Weather.com, the Atlantic, the Valley of Ohio and the Midwest would feel the effects of the powerful winter storm in the coming days. Forecasters said that even Las Vegas could see snow showers before Monday. A marathon scheduled for Sunday in Dallas was canceled.Baltimore and Philadelphia could also see a few centimetres of snow, followed by freezing rain and sleet begins Sunday. On Monday, the winter disaster will extend to New York, parts of Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maine, said that meteorologists.The wintry weather is expected to linger, with snow continuing and lower than normal temperatures persist in the States through the week, said Kelsey angle, a meteorologist with the national weather service.Dion has already cut a wide swath. Jordan, Montana, set a temperature record-low for December 7 - 42 degrees below zero.Deadly weather gripped the United States, cancellation of flights and causing deaths. The cold weather is expected to continue, with ice and snow in the forecast. Report Mark Potter of the NBC and Dylan Dreyer today.Dion hit the West Coast on Saturday, adding to the winter problems that left roads icy and blackouts that stretches from Texas to the Rockies Friday afternoon. The new storm left snowfall in parts of California and Oregon and closed Interstate 5 - the main North-South artery - for several hours on the vine, to the North of Los Angeles.Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport canceled more than 900 flights on Saturday due to the weather, bringing the total in three days to more than 2,800. And 3,300 people spent the night at the airport, authorities said.I was having a domino effect on other parts of the country. Almost 1,000 flights were cancelled on Friday.Brenda and Doug Jones, who lives in a Dallas suburb and had planned to travel to Aruba for their honeymoon, said they decided to go home after 14 hours at the airport waiting for you.Most people at the airport was in a good mood despite the conditions, they said."People were trying to help each other," said Brenda Jones.Related:This story was originally posted on Saturday, December 07, 2013 12:46 PM EST

Another winter storm brings snow to West as freeze grips much of the nation

 A winter storm is bringing heavy snow, ice and freezing rain to the central part of the country, resulting in thousands of canceled flights.  What's next for this brutal weather system? The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore reports.         By Daniella Silva and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC NewsWinter storm Dion was expected to hit vast areas east of the Rockies Sunday, after having left hundreds of thousands of people in Texas and Arkansas without power."What's happening across most of the country is we're getting a very early taste of winter," Mike Muscher, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told Reuters. "This is something you'd typically see in January or February." At the height of the storm, some 267,000 electricity outages were reported in Texas, according to utility provider Oncor. That number was down to about 75,000 late on Saturday, and Oncor said it hoped to restore power to "nearly all" of its customers by Sunday night.  Tony Gutierrez / APIce covered vehicles sit in a automotive dealer lot Saturday in Lewisville, Texas. The wave of icy and dangerous weather was spreading eastward to Virginia and up to New England on Sunday through Monday. New York City's Department of Sanitation issued a "snow alert" for Sunday.Snow was expected throughout the Mid-Atlantic, followed by sleet and freezing rain creating “slick travel conditions and the possibility of power outages,” said Chris Dolce, a meteorologist at the Weather Channel.“Travel delays are probably the biggest human impact,” he said. “If you are in an affected area, stay indoors. Don’t risk traveling if you don’t have to. Wait until the roads get treated and taken care of.”In Virginia, state Emergency Management spokeswoman Laura Southard said the storm had the potential to be an "historic ice event." "This forecast is very concerning to us," Southard told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I've worked multiple disasters, but I've never worked an ice storm with a forecast like this. It's just really important for everybody to take extra precautions."According to Weather.com, the mid-Atlantic, Ohio Valley and Midwest would feel the effects of the powerful winter storm in the coming days. Forecasters said even Las Vegas could see snowy showers before Monday. A marathon planned for Sunday in Dallas was canceled.Baltimore and Philadelphia could also see a few inches of snow, followed by freezing rain and sleet beginning Sunday. By Monday, the wintry mess will extend as far as New York, parts of Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maine, forecasters said.The winter weather is expected to linger, with continued snow and lower than normal temperatures persisting in states through the middle of the week, said Kelsey Angle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.Dion has already cut a wide swathe. Jordan, Montana, set a record-low temperature for Dec. 7 - 42 degrees below zero.  Deadly weather has gripped the U.S., cancelling flights and causing deaths. The cold weather is expected to continue, with snow and ice in the forecast. NBC's Mark Potter and TODAY's Dylan Dreyer report.Dion slammed into the West Coast on Saturday, adding to wintry woes that left icy roads and power outages stretching from Texas to the Rockies late Friday. The new storm dumped heavy snow in parts of California and Oregon and closed Interstate 5 – the major north-south artery – for several hours on the Grapevine, north of Los Angeles.Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport cancelled more than 900 flights on Saturday due to the weather, bringing the three-day total to more than 2,800. And 3,300 people spent the night at the airport, officials said.That was having a domino effect in other parts of the country. Nearly a thousand flights were canceled on Friday. Brenda and Doug Jones, who live in a Dallas suburb and had planned to travel to Aruba for their honeymoon, said they decided to go home after waiting 14 hours at the airport.Most people at the airport were in good spirits despite the conditions, they said."People were trying to help each other out," Brenda Jones said. Related:This story was originally published on Sat Dec 7, 2013 12:46 PM EST

This winter storm heads are then West

A winter storm is bringing snow, ice and rain in the central part of the country, resulting in thousands of frost canceled flights.  What's next for this brutal system time? Reports Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel.By Daniella Silva and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC NewsWinter storm that Dion is expected to reach vast areas east of the Rockies on Sunday, after hundreds of thousands of people in Texas and Arkansas without power."What is happening in most of the country is that we leave with a very early taste of winter," said Mike Muscher, a meteorologist for the national weather service, told Reuters. "This is something that you would typically see in January or February."At the height of the storm, reported some 267,000 power outages in Texas, according to utility Oncor. That number was up to about 75,000 late Saturday, and Oncor said it hoped to restore power to "almost all" of its customers by Sunday night.Tony Gutierrez / APIce covered vehicles sit on a lot of automotive dealership Saturday in Lewisville, Texas.The wave of icy and dangerous weather extended eastward of Virginia and New England on Sunday until Monday. New York City Health Department issued a "snow alert" for Sunday.Expected snow along the mid-Atlantic, followed by sleet and freezing rain create "slippery travel conditions and the possibility of power outages," said Chris Dolce, a meteorologist at the Weather Channel."Travel delays are probably the biggest human impact", said. "If you're in an affected area, remain indoors. Don't risk travelling if you don't have that. "Wait until the roads treated and cared for".In Virginia, spokesman for State Emergency Management Laura Southard said that the storm had the potential to be an "historic event of ice".Southard "this forecast is very worrying for us," told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I have worked several disasters, but I've never worked with a forecast so an ice storm. It is very important for everyone to take extra precautions".According to Weather.com, the Atlantic, the Valley of Ohio and the Midwest would feel the effects of the powerful winter storm in the coming days. Forecasters said that even Las Vegas could see snow showers before Monday. A marathon scheduled for Sunday in Dallas was canceled.Baltimore and Philadelphia could also see a few centimetres of snow, followed by freezing rain and sleet begins Sunday. On Monday, the winter disaster will extend to New York, parts of Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maine, said that meteorologists.The wintry weather is expected to linger, with snow continuing and lower than normal temperatures persist in the States through the week, said Kelsey angle, a meteorologist with the national weather service.Dion has already cut a wide swath. Jordan, Montana, set a temperature record-low for December 7 - 42 degrees below zero.Deadly weather gripped the United States, cancellation of flights and causing deaths. The cold weather is expected to continue, with ice and snow in the forecast. Report Mark Potter of the NBC and Dylan Dreyer today.Dion hit the West Coast on Saturday, adding to the winter problems that left roads icy and blackouts that stretches from Texas to the Rockies Friday afternoon. The new storm left snowfall in parts of California and Oregon and closed Interstate 5 - the main North-South artery - for several hours on the vine, to the North of Los Angeles.Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport canceled more than 900 flights on Saturday due to the weather, bringing the total in three days to more than 2,800. And 3,300 people spent the night at the airport, authorities said.I was having a domino effect on other parts of the country. Almost 1,000 flights were cancelled on Friday.Brenda and Doug Jones, who lives in a Dallas suburb and had planned to travel to Aruba for their honeymoon, said they decided to go home after 14 hours at the airport waiting for you.Most people at the airport was in a good mood despite the conditions, they said."People were trying to help each other," said Brenda Jones.Related:This story was originally posted on Saturday, December 07, 2013 12:46 PM EST

Winter storm system could hamper Thanksgiving travel from Plains to Northeast

aRain, snow and powerful winds are pummeling the West, and that weather system is now heading East just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports. Forecasters are warning Thanksgiving travelers to beware, as a sweeping winter storm system could bring icy roads, flight delays and more headaches to the holiday next week.“We’ve been lucky the last few years, but unfortunately this is a rather poorly timed storm,” said Jonathan Erdman, senior meteorologist at the Weather Channel.Erdman said the Northeast would likely see “massive flight delays” on Wednesday in all major airports, because of rain, snow and low-lying clouds that wreak havoc with flight plans. More than 2.4 million people are expected to have flights scheduled the day before Thanksgiving, according to Airlines for America, an airline industry group. The storm is “about as expansive a winter storm as it get,” according to Erdman, with its effects being felt from California to Maine.The system has already brought freezing rain, sleet and heavy snow in parts of the southern Plains and desert Southwest. One to 2 feet of snow can be expected to blanket the mountains of southwest Colorado, northern New Mexico, parts of northern Arizona, and southern Utah, according to The Weather Channel.  Freezing rain and snow will continue across the Plains States late Saturday and Sunday, possibly persisting into Monday. This NOAA satellite image taken Friday shows a cold front moving through the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, the Lower Mississippi Valley, and the Southern Plains.  Another wave of the storm will push out into New Mexico and possibly the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area on Saturday, creating difficult weekend travel conditions in the area.The storm system then sets itself on track for the Northeast, with some initial rain and low clouds moving up past Washington D.C., by late Tuesday. Erdman said specific details as to how much snow the storm will bring were still unclear, and while it would not be a crippling snowstorm for holiday travel, it would make air and road trips more difficult.The storm will for the most part be gone come Thanksgiving Day in most areas, but an impending cold front should still leave snow on the roads.   “If you’re headed to grandma’s house Thanksgiving morning, it’s still going to a dicey drive in the Northeast in general,” Erdman said. He added that scheduling early travel for this weekend, before the storm hits, would be best for travelers.  “Probably the last chance to avoid any significant travel delays would be Tuesday morning in the Northeast, even Monday and early Tuesday,” he said. “You’ll save a lot of grief.”There's a wintry element to the weather threat that will blanket the East next week, but the forecast will clear on Thanksgiving day. Weather Channel meteorologist Chris Warren reports.

System of winter storm relentless proving deadly in West

Yellow Globe-News Reader Brandy RamirezDebris are strewn along Interstate 40 after a multiple vehicle accident near Vega, Texas, that killed three on Saturday.A dangerous storm that brought snow and heavy rains in the southwestern United States blamed for several deaths from road threatens Thanksgiving travel for millions of people in the Eastern States, forecasters said Saturday.The storm is expected to bring rains to the Southeast on Tuesday and then to the North and bring to the East Coast, possibly interrupting the journey through Wednesday, according to meteorologists at AccuWeather.com."If the storm hugs the coast and is developed to its full potential, can be a nightmare of flight, not only for travellers in the East, but also in the entire nation," said Evan Myers of AccuWeather.com.The holiday of Thanksgiving weekend is one of the most heavily traveled in the United States. Some 39 million people are waiting for the roads from Wednesday to Sunday, centered around Thanksgiving on Thursday, said that the AAA group trip earlier this week.About 3 million people to fly to their destinations, according to AAA.Winter storm warnings are in effect across the country, with a possible ice storm possible snow in Oklahoma and Texas. Dylan Dreyer reports today.Rain and snow have already been linked to several deaths. Motorists stranded and caused accidents in traffic in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas.Three people died in a multiple vehicle accident Friday afternoon in conditions of frost on Interstate 40 West of Amarillo, Texas, said a dispatcher for the State Patrol.In Central - Eastern New Mexico, a 4-year-old girl died when a vehicle that was traveling in it slipped off a road ice and return Friday afternoon, said Emmanuel Gutierrez State Police Sergeant. He wore no seat belt, he said.In Oakland, California, a man was killed on Thursday when a power line fell and he had electrocuted, according to the Contra Costa Times. Another man died trying to avoid debris on a road, the newspaper reported.Principles of the Saturday morning near Sulphur Springs, Texas, the driver of a bus carrying the band of Willie Nelson seemingly lost control and crashed into a highway bridge support. A member of the band, Paul English, broke a hip in the accident.The winter storm was expected to grind through the southern States of the Plains through Sunday night, bringing water, snow and freezing rain and in parts of Northern Texas and the Western half of Oklahoma light snow and frigid conditions, said the national weather service.AccuWeather predicted the storm hit coastal Texas and Louisiana on Monday, eastward along the Gulf Coast on Tuesday and then expand northward.The exact track of the storm is directed toward the coast Tuesday in the Wednesday night still is unknown and is the key to whether the region will be dry weather, rain or snow, AccuWeather, said.The rain could it be sufficiently heavy to delay flights in New Orleans, Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina and other airports, according to AccuWeather.Related:Rain, snow and strong winds are punched to the West, and that system time now moves eastward just in time for the Thanksgiving Feast. Miguel Almaguer NBC reportsThis story was originally posted on Sunday, November 24, 2013 12:34 AM ESTCopyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

System of relentless winter storm kills four in West

Yellow Globe-News Reader Brandy RamirezDebris are strewn along Interstate 40 after a multiple vehicle accident near Vega, Texas, that killed three on Saturday.A dangerous storm that brought snow and heavy rains in the southwestern United States blamed for several deaths from road threatens Thanksgiving travel for millions of people in the Eastern States, forecasters said Saturday.The storm is expected to bring rains to the Southeast on Tuesday and then to the North and bring to the East Coast, possibly interrupting the journey through Wednesday, according to meteorologists at AccuWeather.com."If the storm hugs the coast and is developed to its full potential, can be a nightmare of flight, not only for travellers in the East, but also in the entire nation," said Evan Myers of AccuWeather.com.The holiday of Thanksgiving weekend is one of the most heavily traveled in the United States. Some 39 million people are waiting for the roads from Wednesday to Sunday, centered around Thanksgiving on Thursday, said that the AAA group trip earlier this week.About 3 million people to fly to their destinations, according to AAA.Winter storm warnings are in effect across the country, with a possible ice storm possible snow in Oklahoma and Texas. Dylan Dreyer reports today.Rain and snow have already been linked to several deaths. Motorists stranded and caused accidents in traffic in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas.Three people died in a multiple vehicle accident Friday afternoon in conditions of frost on Interstate 40 West of Amarillo, Texas, said a dispatcher for the State Patrol.In Central - Eastern New Mexico, a 4-year-old girl died when a vehicle that was traveling in it slipped off a road ice and return Friday afternoon, said Emmanuel Gutierrez State Police Sergeant. He wore no seat belt, he said.In Oakland, California, a man was killed on Thursday when a power line fell and he had electrocuted, according to the Contra Costa Times. Another man died trying to avoid debris on a road, the newspaper reported.Principles of the Saturday morning near Sulphur Springs, Texas, the driver of a bus carrying the band of Willie Nelson seemingly lost control and crashed into a highway bridge support. A member of the band, Paul English, broke a hip in the accident.The winter storm was expected to grind through the southern States of the Plains through Sunday night, bringing water, snow and freezing rain and in parts of Northern Texas and the Western half of Oklahoma light snow and frigid conditions, said the national weather service.AccuWeather predicted the storm hit coastal Texas and Louisiana on Monday, eastward along the Gulf Coast on Tuesday and then expand northward.The exact track of the storm is directed toward the coast Tuesday in the Wednesday night still is unknown and is the key to whether the region will be dry weather, rain or snow, AccuWeather, said.The rain could it be sufficiently heavy to delay flights in New Orleans, Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina and other airports, according to AccuWeather.Related:Rain, snow and strong winds are punched to the West, and that system time now moves eastward just in time for the Thanksgiving Feast. Miguel Almaguer NBC reportsThis story was originally posted on Sunday, November 24, 2013 12:34 AM ESTCopyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

System of winter storm relentless proving deadly in West

Yellow Globe-News Reader Brandy RamirezDebris are strewn along Interstate 40 after a multiple vehicle accident near Vega, Texas, that killed three on Saturday.A dangerous storm that brought snow and heavy rains in the southwestern United States blamed for several deaths from road threatens Thanksgiving travel for millions of people in the Eastern States, forecasters said Saturday.The storm is expected to bring rains to the Southeast on Tuesday and then to the North and bring to the East Coast, possibly interrupting the journey through Wednesday, according to meteorologists at AccuWeather.com."If the storm hugs the coast and is developed to its full potential, can be a nightmare of flight, not only for travellers in the East, but also in the entire nation," said Evan Myers of AccuWeather.com.The holiday of Thanksgiving weekend is one of the most heavily traveled in the United States. Some 39 million people are waiting for the roads from Wednesday to Sunday, centered around Thanksgiving on Thursday, said that the AAA group trip earlier this week.About 3 million people to fly to their destinations, according to AAA.Winter storm warnings are in effect across the country, with a possible ice storm possible snow in Oklahoma and Texas. Dylan Dreyer reports today.Rain and snow have already been linked to several deaths. Motorists stranded and caused accidents in traffic in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas.Three people died in a multiple vehicle accident Friday afternoon in conditions of frost on Interstate 40 West of Amarillo, Texas, said a dispatcher for the State Patrol.In Central - Eastern New Mexico, a 4-year-old girl died when a vehicle that was traveling in it slipped off a road ice and return Friday afternoon, said Emmanuel Gutierrez State Police Sergeant. He wore no seat belt, he said.In Oakland, California, a man was killed on Thursday when a power line fell and he had electrocuted, according to the Contra Costa Times. Another man died trying to avoid debris on a road, the newspaper reported.Principles of the Saturday morning near Sulphur Springs, Texas, the driver of a bus carrying the band of Willie Nelson seemingly lost control and crashed into a highway bridge support. A member of the band, Paul English, broke a hip in the accident.The winter storm was expected to grind through the southern States of the Plains through Sunday night, bringing water, snow and freezing rain and in parts of Northern Texas and the Western half of Oklahoma light snow and frigid conditions, said the national weather service.AccuWeather predicted the storm hit coastal Texas and Louisiana on Monday, eastward along the Gulf Coast on Tuesday and then expand northward.The exact track of the storm is directed toward the coast Tuesday in the Wednesday night still is unknown and is the key to whether the region will be dry weather, rain or snow, AccuWeather, said.The rain could it be sufficiently heavy to delay flights in New Orleans, Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina and other airports, according to AccuWeather.Related:Rain, snow and strong winds are punched to the West, and that system time now moves eastward just in time for the Thanksgiving Feast. Miguel Almaguer NBC reportsThis story was originally posted on Sunday, November 24, 2013 12:34 AM ESTCopyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Powerful Midwest storm threatens severe tornadoes, damaging winds

aCellphone video captures a twister touching down in a central Illinois neighborhood. By M. Alex Johnson and Jeff Black, NBC NewsA powerful storm system rampaged through the Midwest on Sunday, spawning dozens of tornadoes that killed at least six people, injured many others and left devastating damage in parts of Illinois.Brookport, Ill., in Massac County near the Kentucky line, was particularly hard hit. At least two people were confirmed to have died, and police with dogs were going door to door to search for trapped residents. With roads entering the city closed by debris and downed power lines, Brookport authorities imposed a 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew.At least four other people were killed in Illinois, the state Emergency Management Agency told NBC News. An 80-year-old man and his 78-year-old sister were killed near New Minden, according to Washington County Coroner Mark Styninger, and unidentified victims were confirmed dead in Washington city and in Unionville."All of a sudden, the wind started picking up, and [my wife] said, 'We've got to get in the basement right now!'" Steve Bucher of Washington told NBC station WEEK of Peoria."Within less than a minute, everything started collapsing inside the house, cracking, sputtering," he said. "Next thing we know, it's light inside the garage."After bringing rain and tornadoes to Illinois, what will this weather system do next? Mike Seidel of The Weather Channel reports.By early evening, 37 people were being treated at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, seven of them as trauma patients. Numerous injuries were also reported in Massac County, and with communications difficult and many roads impassable, it remained unclear how many other people might be hurt.At WEEK-TV, newscasters had to go off the air abruptly as they realized they themselves were in the path of the twister. According to the National Weather Service, the station's roof was damaged. Steve Smedley / APA storm system spun off multiple tornadoes killing several people and flattening an entire neighborhood.In Tazewell County in central Illinois, emergency crews were responding to a tornado that flattened homes in several neighborhoods. The cities with reported damage include Washington, Perkin and East Peoria, county spokeswoman Sara Sparkman told NBC News. Pictures from Washington showed an expansive trail of wood debris from homes torn apart as the twister laid waste to one neighborhood.East Peoria Mayor Dave Mingus said about 100 homes were damaged in his city of more than 23,000 residents, with 25 to 50 destroyed and uninhabitable.The Red Cross was working with the county to open up shelters in the area for families whose homes were damaged.Altogether, The Weather Channel recorded 40 reports of tornadoes: 16 in Indiana, 14 in Illinois, eight in Kentucky and one each in Missouri and Ohio. There were more than 250 reports of wind damage or high winds across eight states. At least 83,000 customers were without electric power Sunday evening in Illinois, most of those in the Peoria area, said Jonathon Monken, director of the Illinois Emergency management Agency.Rescue teams were deploying to multiple areas across the state, focusing on the hard-hit Washington and Gifford areas, Monken said.Damage extended across the region, with damage reported as far east as Kentucky.Corey Mayes of Corydon in Henderson County, Ky., said he, his wife and their 4-year-old dashed downstairs as a tornado rushed through.A violent storm system spawned tornadoes in central Illinois. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports. "I yelled at everybody to get down to the basement, and I checked on my family and ran back up," Mayes told NBC station WFIE of nearby Fort Wayne, Ind."About that time, it had already come across the street and was trying to touch back down," he said. "It just sucked back up and blew on over."Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn warned residents that the weather and storms across the state were "very serious."In Chicago, the Baltimore Ravens-Chicago Bears NFL game was delayed because of the weather, and the seating area at Soldier Field was evacuated. The game resumed at about 2:20 p.m. (3:20 p.m. ET) after a nearly two-hour delay.The highest threat area for tornadoes was eastern Illinois into Indiana, southern Michigan, western Kentucky and western Ohio, but dangerous winds were also a concern as the storms move across the Appalachians as well as parts of the Northeast into early Monday, the National Weather Service said.Significant damage was reported in Lebanon, Ind., where Elizabeth MacDougal was in a Starbucks when a possible tornado appeared. "I was looking out the front window of the Starbucks and I was actually on the phone with my mom saying, 'Hey, we're entering some not-so-nice weather here,'" McDougal told NBC station WTHR of Indianapolis."And then all of a sudden, I see this white cloud, and I'm like, 'Oh, that's moving funny,'" she said. "And then my eyes tracked downward, and that's when the debris started to kick up. And that's when I said, 'Mom, I gotta go!'"The windows of the Starbucks were shattered, and vehicles in the parking lot were overturned, WTHR reported.Wind and hail could cause downed trees and scattered power failures across a broad area from Chicago to Buffalo.The Weather Channel predicted that the storm would diminish as it moved east through Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey, but high winds could reach as far as New York on Monday morning.Michelle Acevedo, Christopher Essner, Azhar Fateh, Elisha Fieldstadt, Alastair Jamieson, Christopher E. Nelson and Julmary Zambrano of NBC News contributed to this report.This story was originally published on Sun Nov 17, 2013 6:28 PM EST

53 million people at risk as powerful Midwest storm brings tornadoes, severe winds

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Cellphone video captures a twister touching down in a central Illinois neighborhood.

By M. Alex Johnson and Jeff Black, NBC News

A powerful storm system rampaged through the Midwest on Sunday, spawning dozens of tornadoes that killed at least six people, injured many others and left devastating damage in parts of Illinois.

Brookport, Ill., in Massac County near the Kentucky line, was particularly hard hit. At least two people were confirmed to have died, and police with dogs were going door to door to search for trapped residents. With roads entering the city closed by debris and downed power lines, Brookport authorities imposed a 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew.

At least four other people were killed in Illinois, the state Emergency Management Agency told NBC News. An 80-year-old man and his 78-year-old sister were killed near New Minden, according to Washington County Coroner Mark Styninger, and unidentified victims were confirmed dead in Washington city and in Unionville.

"All of a sudden, the wind started picking up, and [my wife] said, 'We've got to get in the basement right now!'" Steve Bucher of Washington told NBC station WEEK of Peoria.

"Within less than a minute, everything started collapsing inside the house, cracking, sputtering," he said. "Next thing we know, it's light inside the garage."

After bringing rain and tornadoes to Illinois, what will this weather system do next? Mike Seidel of The Weather Channel reports.

By early evening, 37 people were being treated at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, seven of them as trauma patients. Numerous injuries were also reported in Massac County, and with communications difficult and many roads impassable, it remained unclear how many other people might be hurt.

At WEEK-TV, newscasters had to go off the air abruptly as they realized they themselves were in the path of the twister. According to the National Weather Service, the station's roof was damaged.

Steve Smedley / AP

A storm system spun off multiple tornadoes killing several people and flattening an entire neighborhood.

In Tazewell County in central Illinois, emergency crews were responding to a tornado that flattened homes in several neighborhoods. The cities with reported damage include Washington, Perkin and East Peoria, county spokeswoman Sara Sparkman told NBC News. Pictures from Washington showed an expansive trail of wood debris from homes torn apart as the twister laid waste to one neighborhood.

East Peoria Mayor Dave Mingus said about 100 homes were damaged in his city of more than 23,000 residents, with 25 to 50 destroyed and uninhabitable.

The Red Cross was working with the county to open up shelters in the area for families whose homes were damaged.

Altogether, The Weather Channel recorded 40 reports of tornadoes: 16 in Indiana, 14 in Illinois, eight in Kentucky and one each in Missouri and Ohio. There were more than 250 reports of wind damage or high winds across eight states. 

At least 83,000 customers were without electric power Sunday evening in Illinois, most of those in the Peoria area, said Jonathon Monken, director of the Illinois Emergency management Agency.

Rescue teams were deploying to multiple areas across the state, focusing on the hard-hit Washington and Gifford areas, Monken said.

Damage extended across the region, with damage reported as far east as Kentucky.

Corey Mayes of Corydon in Henderson County, Ky., said he, his wife and their 4-year-old dashed downstairs as a tornado rushed through.

A violent storm system spawned tornadoes in central Illinois. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

"I yelled at everybody to get down to the basement, and I checked on my family and ran back up," Mayes told NBC station WFIE of nearby Fort Wayne, Ind.

"About that time, it had already come across the street and was trying to touch back down," he said. "It just sucked back up and blew on over."

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn warned residents that the weather and storms across the state were "very serious."

In Chicago, the Baltimore Ravens-Chicago Bears NFL game was delayed because of the weather, and the seating area at Soldier Field was evacuated. The game resumed at about 2:20 p.m. (3:20 p.m. ET) after a nearly two-hour delay.

The highest threat area for tornadoes was eastern Illinois into Indiana, southern Michigan, western Kentucky and western Ohio, but dangerous winds were also a concern as the storms move across the Appalachians as well as parts of the Northeast into early Monday, the National Weather Service said.

Significant damage was reported in Lebanon, Ind., where Elizabeth MacDougal was in a Starbucks when a possible tornado appeared.

 "I was looking out the front window of the Starbucks and I was actually on the phone with my mom saying, 'Hey, we're entering some not-so-nice weather here,'" McDougal told NBC station WTHR of Indianapolis.

"And then all of a sudden, I see this white cloud, and I'm like, 'Oh, that's moving funny,'" she said. "And then my eyes tracked downward, and that's when the debris started to kick up. And that's when I said, 'Mom, I gotta go!'"

The windows of the Starbucks were shattered, and vehicles in the parking lot were overturned, WTHR reported.

Wind and hail could cause downed trees and scattered power failures across a broad area from Chicago to Buffalo.

The Weather Channel predicted that the storm would diminish as it moved east through Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey, but high winds could reach as far as New York on Monday morning.

Michelle Acevedo, Christopher Essner, Azhar Fateh, Elisha Fieldstadt, Alastair Jamieson, Christopher E. Nelson and Julmary Zambrano of NBC News contributed to this report.

This story was originally published on Sun Nov 17, 2013 6:28 PM EST

53 million people at risk as powerful Midwest storm threatens tornadoes and severe winds

aCellphone video captures a twister touching down in a central Illinois neighborhood. By M. Alex Johnson and Jeff Black, NBC NewsA powerful storm system rampaged through the Midwest on Sunday, spawning dozens of tornadoes that killed at least six people, injured many others and left devastating damage in parts of Illinois.Brookport, Ill., in Massac County near the Kentucky line, was particularly hard hit. At least two people were confirmed to have died, and police with dogs were going door to door to search for trapped residents. With roads entering the city closed by debris and downed power lines, Brookport authorities imposed a 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew.At least four other people were killed in Illinois, the state Emergency Management Agency told NBC News. An 80-year-old man and his 78-year-old sister were killed near New Minden, according to Washington County Coroner Mark Styninger, and unidentified victims were confirmed dead in Washington city and in Unionville."All of a sudden, the wind started picking up, and [my wife] said, 'We've got to get in the basement right now!'" Steve Bucher of Washington told NBC station WEEK of Peoria."Within less than a minute, everything started collapsing inside the house, cracking, sputtering," he said. "Next thing we know, it's light inside the garage."After bringing rain and tornadoes to Illinois, what will this weather system do next? Mike Seidel of The Weather Channel reports.By early evening, 37 people were being treated at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, seven of them as trauma patients. Numerous injuries were also reported in Massac County, and with communications difficult and many roads impassable, it remained unclear how many other people might be hurt.At WEEK-TV, newscasters had to go off the air abruptly as they realized they themselves were in the path of the twister. According to the National Weather Service, the station's roof was damaged. Steve Smedley / APA storm system spun off multiple tornadoes killing several people and flattening an entire neighborhood.In Tazewell County in central Illinois, emergency crews were responding to a tornado that flattened homes in several neighborhoods. The cities with reported damage include Washington, Perkin and East Peoria, county spokeswoman Sara Sparkman told NBC News. Pictures from Washington showed an expansive trail of wood debris from homes torn apart as the twister laid waste to one neighborhood.East Peoria Mayor Dave Mingus said about 100 homes were damaged in his city of more than 23,000 residents, with 25 to 50 destroyed and uninhabitable.The Red Cross was working with the county to open up shelters in the area for families whose homes were damaged.Altogether, The Weather Channel recorded 40 reports of tornadoes: 16 in Indiana, 14 in Illinois, eight in Kentucky and one each in Missouri and Ohio. There were more than 250 reports of wind damage or high winds across eight states. At least 83,000 customers were without electric power Sunday evening in Illinois, most of those in the Peoria area, said Jonathon Monken, director of the Illinois Emergency management Agency.Rescue teams were deploying to multiple areas across the state, focusing on the hard-hit Washington and Gifford areas, Monken said.Damage extended across the region, with damage reported as far east as Kentucky.Corey Mayes of Corydon in Henderson County, Ky., said he, his wife and their 4-year-old dashed downstairs as a tornado rushed through.A violent storm system spawned tornadoes in central Illinois. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports. "I yelled at everybody to get down to the basement, and I checked on my family and ran back up," Mayes told NBC station WFIE of nearby Fort Wayne, Ind."About that time, it had already come across the street and was trying to touch back down," he said. "It just sucked back up and blew on over."Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn warned residents that the weather and storms across the state were "very serious."In Chicago, the Baltimore Ravens-Chicago Bears NFL game was delayed because of the weather, and the seating area at Soldier Field was evacuated. The game resumed at about 2:20 p.m. (3:20 p.m. ET) after a nearly two-hour delay.The highest threat area for tornadoes was eastern Illinois into Indiana, southern Michigan, western Kentucky and western Ohio, but dangerous winds were also a concern as the storms move across the Appalachians as well as parts of the Northeast into early Monday, the National Weather Service said.Significant damage was reported in Lebanon, Ind., where Elizabeth MacDougal was in a Starbucks when a possible tornado appeared. "I was looking out the front window of the Starbucks and I was actually on the phone with my mom saying, 'Hey, we're entering some not-so-nice weather here,'" McDougal told NBC station WTHR of Indianapolis."And then all of a sudden, I see this white cloud, and I'm like, 'Oh, that's moving funny,'" she said. "And then my eyes tracked downward, and that's when the debris started to kick up. And that's when I said, 'Mom, I gotta go!'"The windows of the Starbucks were shattered, and vehicles in the parking lot were overturned, WTHR reported.Wind and hail could cause downed trees and scattered power failures across a broad area from Chicago to Buffalo.The Weather Channel predicted that the storm would diminish as it moved east through Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey, but high winds could reach as far as New York on Monday morning.Michelle Acevedo, Christopher Essner, Azhar Fateh, Elisha Fieldstadt, Alastair Jamieson, Christopher E. Nelson and Julmary Zambrano of NBC News contributed to this report.This story was originally published on Sun Nov 17, 2013 6:28 PM EST