Blizzard conditions, severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, heavy rain and bitter cold is lashing parts of the eastern US, as more than 70 million people are under winter weather alerts Friday.
The massive storm is only one piece in a very active weather pattern. Multiple weather hazards were impacting the country Friday morning, and the National Weather Service issued some kind of weather alert for every state.
Everything from blizzard warnings to tornado warnings were in effect early Friday as the massive storm worked its way across the eastern half of the US. Wind alerts stretch nearly 2,000 miles from Texas to New England, while flood alerts span from the mid-Atlantic to Northeast.
If you're just reading in now, here's what you should know:
- Snow and blizzard conditions: Snow was forecast Friday to once again bury portions of the Midwest as a powerful storm tracks through the region Friday and Saturday. The combination of heavy snow and strong winds could make travel dangerous and even impossible in some areas, especially through Friday night. Whiteout conditions are possible from Iowa to Michigan, and people may even find themselves stuck in a blizzard. Iowa is one of the states where blizzard conditions were expected Friday.
- Severe thunderstorms: While the northern side of the storm will deliver snowy and windy conditions, severe thunderstorms were forecast Friday on the southern side — including for a significant portion of the South and portions of the mid-Atlantic. More than 5 million people across portions of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi were under a tornado watch as intense thunderstorms rumbled across the South Friday morning.
- Flooding: Another bout of rain was forecast to fall on the already-soaked Northeast Friday, threatening to trigger disruptive and damaging coastal flooding in several of the region's major cities through Saturday. More than seven million people were under coastal flood warnings along swaths of the Northeast Friday, including residents of Philadelphia and parts of New York, where Nassau and Suffolk Counties could be overwhelmed with up to three feet of coastline flooding.
- Travel trouble: The number of flight delays and cancellations is ticking up as the Midwest and South are experiencing messy conditions due to the storm.
- Preparations across the US: The mayor of Buffalo, New York, says the area is prepared for this weekend's winter weather — and they're not expecting the type of storm the city dealt with in late 2022, when dozens died. In Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency. And former President Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday canceled three out of the four in-person campaign events he was scheduled to hold just days before the Iowa caucuses due to extreme weather in the state.