Tornadic storm morphs into snow
Heavy winds, flooding in South kill several
A large storm system took aim at the Northeast on Friday, threatening heavy snow and coastal flooding after heavy winds and possible tornadoes damaged homes and buildings, left thousands without power and caused eight deaths in a wide swath of the South and Midwest.
Three people were killed by falling trees in Alabama as severe weather swept through the state. In Mississippi, a woman died inside her SUV after a rotted tree branch struck her vehicle, and in Arkansas a man drowned after he drove into high floodwaters.
Three weather-related deaths were reported in Kentucky on Friday. The deaths happened in three different counties as storms with straightline winds moved through the state. More than 350,000 customers were without power as of Friday evening.
The storm also barreled Friday afternoon into the Detroit area, quickly covering streets and roads beneath a layer of snow. The weather service said some areas could see blizzard conditions with snowfall approaching 3 inches per hour.
Detroit-based DTE Energy reported more than 130,000 customers lost power Friday evening.
Hail and strong winds were reported in Oklahoma.
The storm system was heading toward New England, where a mix of snow, sleet and rain was expected across the region starting Friday night and lasting into Saturday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a winter storm warning.
There’s a chance of coastal flooding in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and the storm could bring as much as 18 inches of snow to parts of New Hampshire and Maine. The storm will also bring strong winds with gusts of 40 to 50 mph, which could cause power outages.