A major storm that slammed the Midwest continued to cause problems on Wednesday as thunderstorms and strong winds reached the East Coast.
After leaving a path of destruction in several states on Tuesday, the storm took snow to North Dakota on Wednesday and led to tornado warnings in Maryland and North Carolina. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed in Atlanta, Chicago and Minneapolis Wednesday.
The storm produced strong winds with some gusts up to 77 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. At least 28 tornados were reported in several states, officials said.
“This is a very powerful storm,” said James Peronto, a spokesman for the weather service.
On Wednesday, residents of Bismarck, N. D., were facing blizzard conditions. Traffic moved slowly because of icy roads, said Gloria David, a spokeswoman for the city.
“We have wind most of the time, but we don’t usually have wind gusts of 60 miles per hour ripping trees out,” Ms. David said.
Several schools were closed in Minnesota on Wednesday because of storm-related power failures. In Duluth, Minn., all public and private schools were closed after the city received 7.4 inches of snow, officials said.
The storm was expected to weaken by Thursday as it continued to move northeast into Canada. At least 200 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Wednesday after more than 500 flights were canceled there on Tuesday.
As a cold front moved east, it brought storms to the Southeast. Tornado watches were issued on Wednesday in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Meanwhile, many communities in the Midwest were still recovering from the widespread damage the storm caused on Tuesday. At least 200,000 customers lost power because of fallen trees and power lines, officials said.
About two dozen people were injured during the tornados and intense thunderstorms, according to the weather service. A woman was injured in Lindenhurst, Ill., when a tree branch crashed into her car and impaled her.
At least 11 people were injured and several homes were damaged in Lincoln County, N. C., officials said. Two others were injured in Racine County, Wis., when part of a roof was torn from a tractor factory.
The storm had one of the lowest pressure readings ever reported in the mainland United States, according to the weather service. Lower-pressure storms create more problems because they have stronger winds, officials said.
Source : The New York Times
