Tale of two storms: East thaws out while West covers up

California dreaming was not a viable option for shivering Easterners on Sunday: Heavy rain and sporadic flooding plagued the West Coast at the same time people from Georgia to New England were cleaning up after a storm that dumped a foot and a half of snow in places.

That task was complicated by daytime temperatures that stayed at least 10 degrees south of freezing across much of the region despite bright sunshine that made sunglasses as important as ear muffs.

“We’ve made great progress on clearing our roads, but freezing temperatures are not helping our efforts,” said Barry McLamb, emergency management coordinator in Chapel Hill, N. C.

If they couldn’t dream of milder weather, Easterners could look ahead a few days. The National Weather Service said that by midweek, temperatures would shoot up — Atlanta expects highs around 70 — and get rid of residual ice and snow.

There was good news: Two hikers missing for more than a day in the North Carolina mountains without food and water and only a small fire for warmth had been found and were being treated at a hospital. A rescue team said a helicopter using a heat- detecting instrument found the hikers around 5 p. m. Saturday in the Shining Rock Wilderness area southwest of Asheville.

The storm was blamed for at least three traffic deaths across the Southeast before skipping along the Atlantic ( largely sparing New York City) to New England. There it created more travel problems, including a chain- reaction crash involving 20 vehicles.

Plymouth, Mass., logged 17 inches of snow before the sun came out Sunday.

In the West, forecasters said flooding from a storm that was moving onshore and more heavy rain Tuesday could cause serious problems in northern California and Nevada. Forecasters warned of mudslides and the worst flooding in more than a decade.