NPR
Snow and wind batter parts of US, with threat of thunderstorms and tornadoes
+774 words added -643 words removed
− By
The Associated Press
Fans walk through snowy streets before an NHL hockey game between the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in St.
+ By
The Associated Press
Visitors take cover during heavy rain near the U.S.
− Paul.
+ Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday.
− Abbie Parr/AP hide caption
CHICAGO — Successive punches of snow and wind were set to impact the eastern half of the United States on Monday as severe weather swept across much of the nation and made roads impassable in the Upper Midwest.
Climate El Niño is set to take hold this summer, driving up global temperatures Forecasters said mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., were at greatest risk for high winds and tornadoes.
+ Nathan Howard/AP hide caption
WASHINGTON — Chaotic weather, from surprising heat in California to the threat of storms rolling into the East Coast, put over half the U.S.
− The cold front was expected to move off the East Coast by Tuesday, bringing sharply colder weather in its wake, forecasters said.
+ population in the path of extreme conditions Monday.
− The late winter blast comes as Hawaii continued to be affected by a separate storm system that caused severe flooding over the weekend.
+ Storms across the nation's eastern half forced airlines to cancel roughly 4,000 flights nationwide Monday, and many schools closed early in the mid-Atlantic states, where high winds were in the forecast.
− The National Weather Service that warned a line of severe storms with damaging winds would cross much of the Eastern U.S.
+ Climate El Niño is set to take hold this summer, driving up global temperatures Blizzards buried parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota while torrential rains flooded homes and washed out roads in Hawaii.
In Washington, the House and Senate postponed votes, and federal agencies told workers to go home early.
− After firing up Sunday, the storms were crossing the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys.
+ But by late afternoon, the expected rough weather had failed to develop and a tornado watch expired.
− The storm threat was expected to enter the Appalachians, then move toward the East Coast, where "severe thunderstorms with widespread damaging winds and several tornadoes" were expected, the service said.
+ Airport delays and cancellations piled up Monday in some of the nation's largest airports — including those in New York, Chicago and Atlanta.
− A stretch from parts of South Carolina to Maryland appeared most likely to experience the greatest damaging winds Monday afternoon, the weather service said. That could include Raleigh, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, and the nation's capital.
+ The private weather service AccuWeather calculated that more than 200 million people were under threat Monday of some kind of dangerous weather.
− Officials said schools in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, would be closed Monday. Gov. Josh Stein urged residents to enable emergency alerts on their phones ahead of expected wind gusts of 74 mph (119 kph).
+ Those range from extreme heat and wildfire advisories to flood and freeze watches from the National Weather Service.
− Beyond the threat to lives and property, "whether it's wind gusts from a squall line, blizzard or snow, or just wind because of the storm, you're looking at several major airports being impacted," said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys.
+ The storm system that dropped snow by the foot in the Midwest barreled toward the East Coast with the potential for high winds and tornadoes, the weather service warned Monday.
− An area from central Wisconsin to Michigan's Upper Peninsula was likely to see over 2 feet (60 centimeters) of snow, with higher isolated totals on the peninsula, Roys said. Lower snow accumulations in places such as Chicago and Milwaukee will likely create trouble for commuters on Monday, he added.
+ "Wind is the primary threat, but within any of these areas of strong wind there could be some embedded tornadoes," said Evan Bentley, a meteorologist with the weather service.
− Jim Allen, 45, who lives on the Upper Peninsula, said his family stocked up on necessities and he was ready to clear snow several times Sunday with a shovel and snowblower.
+ The biggest threat stretched from Maryland to the upper edge of South Carolina.
− "We're basically prepared to just kind of hunker down for a few days if we need to," Allen said.
+ In New York City, four people, including a child, died Monday afternoon after a fire in a three-story apartment building spread during heavy winds.
− More than 600 flights were canceled at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight disruptions.
+ Blizzard conditions continued in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Monday after the storm walloped parts of Wisconsin and Michigan with several feet of snow.
Since Saturday, nearly 3 feet (61 centimeters) had fallen in the northern Wisconsin town of Mountain.
Fans walk through snowy streets before an NHL hockey game between the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday in St.
− Dozens more through Detroit were scrapped.
+ Paul.
− O'Hare and Midway international airports in Chicago reported more than 850 cancellations.
+ Abbie Parr/AP hide caption
Another round of snow and gusts on Monday could bring another foot of snow across Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
− More than 210,000 utility customers in six Great Lakes states were without electricity Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us.
+ A heat dome over the Southwest will push temperatures well into the triple digits in Arizona most of the week, much earlier than normal.
California is starting to feel like summer too.
− Some originated on Friday when gusts in the region reached 85 mph (137 km).
+ The San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento will see temperatures pushing toward 90 F (32 C) by midweek.
"This is technically still winter," LA Mayor Karen Bass said Monday.
− Widespread outages also were reported in parts of Pennsylvania and Arkansas.
+ "This is not normal for March, obviously, but it is a sign of how climate change is impacting our city."
While temperatures are expected to reach 100 F (37.8 C), the threat of wildfires around Los Angeles is relatively low because winds will be light.
− In Nebraska, about 30 National Guard members were deployed to combat multiple wildfires across a broad swath of range and grassland, state officials said.
+ Phoenix is expected to have five straight days of triple digit temperatures this week — only once before, in 1988, has the city recorded a 100 F day in March, DePodwin said.
"This is a heat wave that we have not seen before in recorded history in the Southwest," said AccuWeather meteorologist Dan DePodwin.
Dry and windy conditions were charging the largest wildfire in Nebraska's history.
− One fire-related fatality was reported.
+ Three fires in the state have consumed more than 1,140 square miles (about 2,953 square kilometers) of mostly grassland.
− Rain continued falling on Sunday in Hawaii, where acres of farmland and homes have been flooded, roads have been closed and shelters opened.
+ "Mother Nature is throwing a doozy at us," Gov.
− Some areas of Maui received more than 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a social media post.
+ Jim Pillen said Monday.
− Maui County later on Sunday downgraded an evacuation notice and said crews were pumping water from retentions basins to keep them at safe levels.
+ Unrelenting rains triggered landslides, washed away roads and flooded homes and farmland in Hawaii over the weekend.
− Resident and real estate broker Jesse Wald, who recorded video of a coastal road's collapse Saturday, said other parts of the road were flooded out by mud and sediment.
+ All of Hawaii's islands had spots with more than 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain while parts of Maui were overwhelmed with double that amount, the weather service said.
− "In the 20 years I've been here I've never seen this much rain," he said.
+ While the worst of the storm has passed, more heavy rain is expected later this week. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said there were no reports of injuries or deaths and crews were assessing damage.
+ Forecasters said the East Coast storm was expected to leave sharply colder weather in its wake.
The storm will stick around parts of the Northeast until Tuesday morning. By then, wind chills below freezing were expected to reach the Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle with warnings in effect across the Southeast and in part of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas, forecasters said.
To the north, rain was expected to change over to snow behind the cold front with heavy snow possible in the central Appalachians of West Virginia.