By Antoinette Radford, Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal, Maureen Chowdhury and Emma Tucker, CNN
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch and Chris Boyette
An 81-year-old woman was killed in Cottonwood, Alabama, during Tuesday’s storm, according to Houston County Commission Chairman Brandon Shoupe.
Charlotte Paschal was found dead at the scene after her mobile home was flipped multiple times, Shoupe said.
Several buildings were damaged throughout the town, Shoupe added.
Shoupe said recovery efforts could last “many, many weeks.”
Cottonwood is approximately 88 miles northwest of Tallahassee.
From CNN's Rob Frehse
New York City is now bracing for winds up to 35 mph at the coast and gusts up to 70 mph during the storm, the city’s emergency management announced Tuesday afternoon.
Monday, officials said they expected up to 60 mph gusts during the storm.
The city also announced coastal flood advisories for Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island Wednesday morning from 5 a.m. until 10 a.m. ET and southern Queens from 4 a.m. until 10 a.m. ET.
The Fire Department of New York maintains 111 water-trained rescue units and 143 ladder companies with chainsaws to assist with potential wind and tree events, according to the city’s emergency management.
Mayor Eric Adams warned the high wind gusts could be very dangerous.
“As the city braces for heavy rain, potential coastal flooding, and significant winds to impact the tri-state region later today, New Yorkers need to take the necessary precautions to remain safe throughout the duration of this weather event and avoid going outside during the peak of the storm,” Adams said.
From Gregory Wallace and Pete Muntean
More than 1,000 flights were canceled and more than 5,800 flights were delayed on Tuesday, according to data from FlightAware.
Some of the flight cancellations are due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9.
United Airlines told CNN it canceled 170 flights on Tuesday because of the Max grounding.
Alaska Airlines has not said how many Tuesday cancellations are due to the Max but, said the airline has canceled between 140 and 170 flights daily since the Federal Aviation Administration-mandated grounding, pending inspections of the planes.
Orlando International Airport and Tampa International now have FAA ground stops for arriving flights due to thunderstorms. Flights arriving at LaGuardia Airport in New York are delayed more than an hour due to wind.
Citing thunderstorms, the FAA ordered a broad hold on Charlotte-bound departures that applies to airports from Texas to Indiana and Miami to Washington, D.C.
Earlier in the day, the FAA also held flights bound for Atlanta – the world’s busiest airport – and Dallas Fort Worth. The FAA also warns of Tuesday afternoon and evening disruptions along the East Coast, from Florida to New York. It has closed some flight routes due to thunderstorms, causing it to hold some Florida-bound flights.
On the nation’s rails, Amtrak has canceled multiple East Coast trains for Tuesday and Wednesday. The agency has either canceled or shortened the routes for more than 17 Acela, Northeast Regional and Keystone (Pennsylvania) trains on Tuesday and Wednesday.
From CNN’s Joe Sutton
The Iowa State Patrol has closed a portion of Interstate 80 as of Tuesday afternoon due to whiteout conditions that have led to a multi-vehicle crash.
"Interstate CLOSED! I-80 WB at the 229 MM is closed due to a multi vehicle crash,” the Iowa State Patrol said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Whiteout conditions are being reported and travel is NOT advised on I-80 from Des Moines to the Illinois border."
In a separate post, the state patrol showed pictures of a trooper's vehicle being severely damaged after it was hit.
"Thankfully, this ISP Trooper was OUT of his car checking on a stalled semi when his patrol car was struck from behind. No injuries were reported…" the Iowa State Patrol said on X.
The agency stressed that travel is not advised on I-80 between Des Moines and the Illinois state line.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has a winter storm warning in effect for most of Iowa.
"In addition to the snowfall, breezy winds have developed over much of the state, with gusts generally around 30 to 40 mph, and a few locations seeing occasional gusts over 45 mph. As a result, blowing and drifting snow is expected through the afternoon and evening, especially in areas where snow continues to fall. Gusty winds will also continue to cause reduced visibilities and prolong poor driving conditions even after the falling snow concludes this evening,” a message from the NWS Des Moines said.
From CNN’s Joe Sutton
Law enforcement in Kansas moved stranded motorists they rescued from their vehicles on Monday into a high school during blizzard and whiteout conditions.
Tod Hileman, Kansas Highway Patrol public information officer, on Tuesday told CNN they moved at least 30 people to Wheatland High School located in Gove County, Kansas.
"We did take about 25-30 people, including children, to Wheatland High School in Grainfield, KS last night when their vehicle got stuck on the highways during the blizzard,” Hileman said.
Those stranded motorist are still at the high school as of Tuesday afternoon, Hileman said.
"I think they’re still there because we are still in the process of removing their vehicles from the highways. Most of our roads out here are still closed," he said.
Grainfield is located in western Kansas along Interstate 70, which was closed on Monday and into the overnight hours of Tuesday.
The Kansas Department of Transportation posted a message on X saying some portions of I-70 are open and other portions remain closed.
“We are working hard to remove all of the cars and semi trucks from the roads," Hileman said in an earlier post on X, formerly Twitter.
From CNN’s Isabel Rosales and Wes Bruer
One person was killed and two more were critically injured in a mobile home community in North Carolina, according to Amy McCauley, communications director for Catawba County.
McCauley went on to say that the National Weather Service is currently evaluating if it was a tornado that hit the community in Claremont. Claremont, which sits in Catawba County, is about 45 miles northwest of Charlotte.
McCauley said the area sustained damage, with multiple trees down and some flooded streets, as well.
From CNN Meteorologist Mary Gilbert
An exceptionally powerful storm packing nearly every winter weather threat is tracking across the central and eastern US on Tuesday. Here's what to expect as the storm bears down on New York City and Washington, DC. All times are local:
Washington, DC:
The worst conditions from the storm will arrive ahead of many other major Northeast metros.
New York City:
The storm's worst will miss much of the evening commute but ramp up quickly thereafter.
From CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller
As another destructive storm rips through the US, the historic number of last year's extreme weather has become more clear.
The US experienced 28 separate weather and climate disasters costing at least $1 billion in damage in 2023, according to NOAA. This is a record number of such disasters in the US, far surpassing the 22 in 2020.
The news comes at the same time that climate scientists confirmed 2023 was the warmest year on record and perilously close to hitting a critical climate tipping point.
“The U.S. was hit with more billion-dollar disasters in 2023 than any other year on record, highlighting the increasing risks from our changing climate,” NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information Director Deke Arndt said. “Record heat waves, drought, wildfires and floods are a sobering reminder of the consequences of the long-term warming trend we’re seeing across our country.”
The number of $1 billion disasters in the US has been on the rise — just like temperatures. Last year was the record 13th consecutive year of at least 10 such disasters and the fourth consecutive year with at 18 or more, NCEI notes.
The total cost of 2023's events exceeds $92 billion, though that number is expected to rise as costs from a late-December storm that brought flooding to the East Coast are still being tallied.
Last year's costliest disaster was the drought in the South and Midwest, which decreased crop yields and brought saltwater intrusion into the water supply in southern Louisiana. The price tag of the ongoing drought has reached $14.5 billion, according to NOAA.
The impacts of the year’s extreme weather extended far beyond financial costs, with 492 direct or indirect fatalities attributed to the 28 disasters – the eighth-most disaster-related deaths for the contiguous US since 1980.
From CNN's Gregory Wallace and Pete Muntean
Winter weather in the eastern US is disrupting travel on Tuesday.
Airlines have canceled more than 800 flights, and more than 4,200 flights arrived delayed, according to data from FlightAware.
Some of the flight cancelations are due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 after a terrifying incident aboard one of its flights in which a section of the plane blew off the aircraft mid-flight.
United Airlines told CNN it canceled 170 flights Tuesday because of the MAX incident.
Alaska Airlines has not said how many Tuesday cancelations are due to the MAX incident, but the airline has canceled between 140 and 170 flights daily since the FAA-mandated grounding, pending inspections of the planes.
Citing thunderstorms, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a broad hold on Charlotte-bound departures that applies to airports from Texas to Indiana and Miami to Washington, DC.
Earlier in the day, the FAA also held flights bound for Atlanta — the world’s busiest airport — and Dallas Fort Worth in Texas.
The FAA warned of afternoon and evening disruptions along the East Coast, from Florida to New York. It has closed some flight routes due to thunderstorms, causing it to hold some Florida-bound flights.
On the nation’s rails, Amtrak canceled multiple East Coast trains for Tuesday and Wednesday. It has either canceled or shortened the routes for more 17 Acela, Northeast Regional and Keystone trains today and tomorrow.
