Storms hit South with tornadoes, dump heavy snow in Midwest
A sprawling storm hit the South with strong thunderstorms and tornadoes that blew roofs off homes, flipped over campers and tossed about furniture in Florida on Tuesday. Another storm brought cities across the Midwest to a standstill with more than half a foot of snow, stranding people on highways as it headed to the Northeast.
At least two deaths in the South were attributed to the storm, where 55 mph winds and hail moved through the Florida Panhandle and into parts of Alabama and Georgia by sunrise Tuesday, along with at least several reports of radar-confirmed tornadoes, the National Weather Service said. A wind gust of 106 mph was recorded before dawn near the coast in Walton County, Florida.
In Jonesboro, Georgia, a tree fell on a car as it was going down a highway, killing the driver, police said. In North Carolina, one person died and two other people were in critical condition after a suspected tornado struck a mobile home park in the town of Claremont, which is north of Charlotte, according to Amy McCauley, a spokesperson for Catawba County.
Storm-related injuries were reported in Florida, but no deaths. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters in Tallahassee at least four tornadoes touched down in the Panhandle. DeSantis issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency for 49 counties in North Florida. Multiple counties closed schools for Tuesday ahead of the storm, and some said they would reopen Wednesday.
"This is obviously going to impact the state throughout the day," DeSantis said.
A section of Panama City Beach, Florida, showed parts of roofs blown away, furniture, fences and debris strewn about and a house that appeared to be tilted on its side, leaning on another home.
Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management, told reporters about a house in the Panama City area that was listing at an angle of 20-25 degrees, but it wasn't clear if he was referring to the same house.
"For it to have to pick that up off its foundation and move it like that, you may even be into EF3 status there," Guthrie said, referring to the tornado's strength, which will ultimately be determined by the weather service.
In Panama City, about 10 miles away, police early Tuesday asked residents to stay indoors and off the roads "unless absolutely necessary" as officers checked on damage from the storms, including downed power lines and trees.
The city is in Bay County, where there had been multiple reports of tornadoes on the ground, Sheriff Tommy Ford said in a brief Facebook Live post.
"We've rescued people out of structures," he said.
The sheriff's office urged people to stay home, posting photos of a damaged apartment complex and marina. Ford announced a curfew would be in effect from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The Walton County Sheriff's Office in the Florida Panhandle posted photos of power lines draped across a road, damage to a gas station and large pieces of building materials littering the area.
ADDITIONAL STORMS EXPECTED @WCSOFL encourages residents and visitors to AVOID unnecessary travel until the storm completely passes through our area.
— Walton Co. Sheriff (@WCSOFL) January 9, 2024
We remain under severe thunderstorm warning. Power is out for some areas and debris will be littering to roadway. Use your best… pic.twitter.com/AJGvjv5bqE
The sheriff's office posted a video of a severe storm hitting the area.
WATCH: Severe storms roll through DeFuniak Springs along Highway 90 and Twin Lakes Drive this morning.
— Walton Co. Sheriff (@WCSOFL) January 9, 2024
Motorists may encounter debris should use extreme caution when traveling the roadways following today’s severe weather. pic.twitter.com/oge1loCxpT
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced it was closing early at 2 p.m. Tuesday due to the weather and would reopen Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Heavy rain across Georgia stopped air traffic at Atlanta's busy airport for a time Tuesday morning and caused flash flooding, blocking some lanes on freeways around Atlanta during the morning commute. More than 80 public school systems across Georgia called off classes entirely while others taught students online or delayed the start of in-person classes.
Nearly 140,000 customers were without power in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia as of late Tuesday afternoon, according to the PowerOutage.us website.
In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency before the storm approached so weight and size restrictions on large and heavy trucks containing emergency supplies or agricultural goods would be waived. Some schools were canceled or shut down early to avoid the threats from high winds and flooding.
Meanwhile, in the Midwest, where a snowstorm started Monday, up to 12 inches of snow could blanket a broad area stretching from southeastern Colorado all the way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, including western Kansas, eastern Nebraska, large parts of Iowa, northern Missouri and northwestern Illinois, said Bob Oravec, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.
The storm dumped around 8 to 12 inches of snow across Kansas, eastern Nebraska and South Dakota, western Iowa and southwestern Minnesota on Monday, with 15 inches at North Sioux City, South Dakota, the National Weather Service reported. Lower amounts fell over western Iowa, central Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
It was the first major winter storm of the season for the Kansas City metro area in Kansas and Missouri, where the National Weather Service predicted 6 inches of snow by the time the storm moved on later Tuesday.
From the Midwest, the storm was expected to head east, bringing a combination of snow, rain and strong winds to the Northeast by Tuesday night, as well as concerns about flooding in areas such as New England, parts of which got more than a foot of snow Sunday.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy already declared a state of emergency ahead of what's expected to be heavy rain and wind that will exacerbate the effects of bad weather conditions since December.
"I would just say this is one I would strongly, strongly, strongly encourage folks to not underestimate," he said at a news conference Monday.
In New York, city officials began evacuating nearly 2,000 migrants who had been housed at a sprawling white tent complex at a former airport located in a remote corner of Brooklyn. An aide to New York City Mayor Eric pointed to predicted wind speeds of more than 70 mph Tuesday night.
In western New York, an empty tractor trailer blew over on the state Thruway on Tuesday morning, temporarily blocking all westbound traffic, state police said. The state banned empty trucks and trailers on numerous major roadways.
In Maine, Gov. Janet Mills has delayed the opening of all state offices until noon Wednesday due to the storm.
The weather has already affected campaigning for Iowa's Jan. 15 precinct caucuses, where the snow is expected to be followed by frigid temperatures that could drift below zero degrees.
It forced former President Donald Trump's campaign to cancel multiple appearances by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders and her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who had been scheduled to court Iowa voters on Trump's behalf Monday.
Whiteout conditions in central Nebraska closed a long stretch of Interstate 80, while Kansas closed Interstate 70 from the central city of Russell all the way west to the Colorado border due to dangerous travel conditions. Several vehicles slid off I-70 in the northeastern part of the state, authorities said.
Madison, Wisconsin, was under a winter storm warning until early Wednesday, with as much as 9 inches of snow and 40 mph winds on tap.
Northwestern Illinois was also under a winter storm warning with forecasts calling for 7 to 12 inches of snow by early Wednesday. The Chicago area as well as Gary, Indiana, were under winter storm advisories, with forecasts calling for up to 6 inches of snow and wind gusts of up to 30 mph.
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