Blizzards, strong winds and hazardous travel to hit Midwest as East Coast prepares for storms
Powerful thunderstorms, blizzard conditions and heavy snow are set to hit the Midwest and Great Lakes regions on Wednesday — while the East Coast faces heavy rain and thunderstorms as severe weather continues into early spring.
A major low pressure weather system is due to travel over the Greater Chicago area on Wednesday, before reaching Michigan's Upper Peninsula and moving onto Quebec by Thursday. The National Weather Service warned that blizzard conditions and winds of 40 to 60 mph are possible in these areas and from Kansas City to Iowa.
"This will lead to white-out conditions at times, thus causing hazardous driving conditions, " the NWS said, although conditions are expected to improve by Thursday.
The NWS office in Kansas City reported wind gusts of 70 mph early Wednesday and told residents to be prepared for possible power outages.
Blackouts are a strong possibility in many areas, with more than 445,000 energy customers already in the dark in the South and Midwest, including more than 110,000 in Texas, according to PowerOutage.us.
Meanwhile, the East Coast could experience heavy rain and thunderstorms ahead of a new cold front. The NWS Storm Prediction Center expects severe weather from near Jacksonville, Florida, to the Mid-Atlantic on Wednesday, with the eastern Carolinas and southeast Virginia being the most at-risk areas.
"The line of thunderstorms rolling through the East Coast will be moving very quickly; thunderstorms are not expected to last all day, but those that do form could be quite impactful," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex Duffus.
Cities including Raleigh and Charleston could be affected — and while the rain may to help combat the ongoing drought in the area, flooding and difficult driving conditions are possible.
California will be hit by its own storm system on Wednesday too, with rain and snow expected in the Sierra Nevada through Thursday night. This moisture will affect the Intermountain region Thursday and is expected to reach the Rockies by Thursday night into Friday morning.
It has been a tumultuous start to meteorological spring for much of the Lower 48, with wildfires in the Carolinas and widespread storms.
The NWS confirmed that a tornado measuring EF-1, meaning it had winds to up to 110 mph, hit the city of Lewisville, Texas, on Tuesday, causing damage to a warehouse.
Eyewitness Joseph Kelly told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth he saw the twister at about 5:45 a.m.
"I heard this really loud, extreme noise and I looked behind me and there's a little tiny tornado throwing debris up everywhere, it was literally behind my truck," he said. Kelly added that he had always wanted to see a tornado, but isn't keen on being so near one again.
Authorities in Mississippi confirmed Tuesday night that two people died in the state due to an unspecified weather-related event. That news coincided with millions of tourists flocking to New Orleans to join Mardi Gras celebrations, amid warnings that many events could have been canceled if the weather deteriorated.
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