Storms roll eastward; 3 deaths are reported

A large storm system spouting heavy winds and possible tornadoes in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Kentucky damaged homes and buildings, downed trees, left thousands without power and was blamed for the deaths of three people Friday as it marched eastward, threatening heavy snow in the Midwest and Northeast.

In Alabama, a 70-year-old man sitting in his truck was killed when a tree fell onto his vehicle, and a woman died inside her SUV in west central Mississippi after a rotted tree branch struck her vehicle. In Arkansas, a man drowned after he drove into high floodwaters.

The storm system turned toward New England, where a mix of snow, sleet and rain is expected starting Friday night and lasting into Saturday.

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 storms slammed California earlier in the week with as much as 10 feet of snow, with some residents in mountains east of Los Angeles looking at being stuck in their homes for at least another week.