by Peter Mertz
DENVER, the United States, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- "Tens of millions of Americans are waking up today to very stormy weather, from the Great Plains to the Deep South," CBS reported on Tuesday, of an avalanche of storm systems hitting the United States from coast to coast.
Record snowfalls and freezing temperatures left at least 250,000 people without power in the midwest, and one person dead and 28 injured by a deadly tornado in the southeast state of Alabama, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported.
Even sunny, hot Arizona in the southwest, was not spared Mother Nature's aberrant weather, where soft hail, called "graupel," Monday fell in the arid state capital of Phoenix, that has not seen snow since 1998, according to local AZCentral news website.
Californians, who have been battered since late last week by rains and flooding, were on Tuesday watching with grave concern a massive "California Atmospheric River" coming from the Pacific Ocean, a lengthy storm front that "will usher in gusty winds and heavy rain for coastal and lower elevation areas," NWS predicted on Tuesday.
This new storm menace could add 7-10 more inches (17.8 -25.4 centimeters) of rain and trigger possible flooding from wildfire scarred areas, the NWS reported.
Evacuation orders were in effect for areas of fire-scarred Santa Cruz County while evacuation warnings were issued in San Mateo County and part of Solano County in Northern California Tuesday, where the LNU Lightning Complex wildfire burned down 363,220 acres (1,470 square kilometers) last year.
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) warned on Tuesday traveling in the Sierra Nevada mountain area after sunset could be dangerous.
"We cannot stress this enough - IF YOU HAVE NOT ARRIVED TO YOUR DESTINATION BEFORE SUNSET TONIGHT, TRAVEL TO THE SIERRA IS NOT ADVISED. Heavy snow is on tap and whiteout conditions are expected. Please make smart travel choices." Caltrans tweeted.
Over the weekend, heavy rains and hail were recorded across California, and much of the West was hit by heavy precipitation, with Colorado's Rocky Mountains getting a foot of snow and overnight temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-17.8 degrees Celsius), local media reported.
In California, Nevada and Arizona, a winter storm dumping snow and rain Monday made travel difficult throughout the area, especially in higher elevations, the Weather Channel reported.
East of Los Angeles, 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) of snow fell in Mount Baldy and up to 18 inches (45.8 centimeters) were recorded at the Mountain High Resort, 90 minutes from Los Angeles.
HISTORIC STORM FRONT
A massive weather front, descending from the Pacific Northwest and Canada southward into America, slammed the mountainous west over the weekend, and was still hitting the Midwest hard as the week began, the NWS said.
"A blockbuster snowstorm continued to hit portions of the central and northeastern U.S. Tuesday, causing travel headaches and closing some coronavirus testing sites," USA Today reported.
The enormity of the storm was graphically displayed on AccuWeather's website Tuesday, stretching from the eastern edges of Colorado's flat Front Range, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, some 2,900 kilometers in length.
The system's southeast fringes saw a tornado touch down Monday night in Alabama, "toppling powerlines and trees," where one person was killed and 28 people injured," according to WMTV News Birmingham.
To the north, 660 miles (1,060 kilometers) away, on the shores of Lake Michigan, freezing temperatures and winds caused widespread power outages and hardships for thousands, CBS News said.
Chicago officials scrambled Monday night to create warming shelters at libraries and post offices for people without heat, as single-digit temperatures and icy conditions gripped the Midwest.
Iowa got hit with 13 inches (33.02 centimeters) of snow and at least 12.5 inches (31.8 centimeters) blanketed Nebraska, while plummeting temperatures caused hazardous road conditions and "one-quarter inch of ice on the roadways," AccuWeather said Tuesday.
"This is historic snow," NWS in Nebraska said Monday, and that "It had been at least 15 years since this part of the country had more than a foot of snow in a single storm," meteorologist Taylor Nicolaisen reported.
"Do not travel unless it's absolutely necessary," Nebraska state police posted on the state's website Monday, as troopers had "responded to more than 200 weather related incidents."
More than one state said the storm had hampered COVID-19 relief efforts.
"More than 10 inches of snow fell in part of eastern Nebraska by Monday evening, leading to early closure of Covid testing sites," The Guardian reported Tuesday.
Snow was slowing, but still falling Tuesday in southern Iowa as the front was moving southeast, with travel advisories and winter warm warnings in effect throughout most of the area, KCCI News Des Moines said.
Cities as far east as Albany, New York and Hartford, Connecticut were also expecting snow, very cold temperatures, and icy conditions, AccuWeather said Tuesday, with travel conditions remaining hazardous throughout the storm's entire area of impact. Enditem