What you need to know after severe storms hit large parts of the US

High winds and heavy rain that battered much of the eastern United States left more than half a million utility customers without power on Wednesday. Roads and buildings over a wide area were flooded and battered by the storm.

At least four weather-related deaths were reported in the Southeast on Tuesday, and an apparent tornado tore through homes and businesses around Panama City Beach, Florida. In some parts of the South, a tornado tore through homes and businesses around Panama City Beach, Florida. hail the size of baseballs fell.

Earlier this week, a series of storms began rolling across the country, drenching parts of the Northeast, while blizzards enveloped the Pacific Northwest and strong winds whipped through the South. Another storm is expected on Friday, followed by arctic temperatures.

Flooding is still a risk even after the worst rain showers.

Although the storm itself had passed through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions by Wednesday afternoon, rain runoff continued to pose a risk of flooding. More than 100 river and tide gauges in the eastern part of the country reported water levels were at flood stage, and many of the rivers will remain high until the end of the week when more rain may fall.

Heavy rains in Rhode Island led to road closures and about 35 people were evacuated from homes in the town of West Warwick due to overnight flooding. In connecticut, the national weather service has issued a flash flood warning in new london county after a partial dam failure on the Yantic River and the city of Norwich ordered residents living near the river to evacuate.

Flooding closed several streets near the harbor in downtown Annapolis, Maryland’s capital, on Tuesday evening. “Absolutely the worst flooding and the fiercest winds I have ever seen,” Mayor Gavin Buckley said on Wednesday morning.

“It will take a while to clean this up,” he added.

Schools, power lines and air traffic were disrupted on the east coast.

Hundreds of thousands of people from Florida to Vermont woke up without power Wednesday morning poweroutage.us, which tracks utilities. The states where the most people were affected were Pennsylvania and New York. Since the morning, service has improved in many places.

Many school districts on the East Coast and in the Midwest canceled classes on Tuesday and Wednesday or planned to open late — or both — because of the weather.

Air traffic on the east coast was disrupted by the storms. FlightAware, a flight tracking website, reported that 1,200 flights were canceled nationwide on Wednesday morning, after 2,200 flights were canceled in major cities including New York, Chicago and Washington on Tuesday.

Airports in New York City returned to normal operations on Wednesday, a Port Authority spokesperson said. Still, Newark, LaGuardia and Kennedy airports each reported dozens of delays and cancellations in the morning.

Tornadoes ravaged parts of the South.

At one point Tuesday, more than 22 million people from Florida to Virginia were under tornado watch. There were reports of at least 10 tornadoes across the South Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center, though these remained unconfirmed until officials could survey the damage.

An apparent tornado ripped through Bamberg, S.C., Tuesday afternoon, a county spokeswoman said. The storm left a mess on the main street, where officials were still assessing the damage Wednesday morning. No injuries have been reported.

Strong wind gusts Tuesday – possibly including a tornado – also caused severe damage around Panama City Beach, Florida. Roofs were torn away, leaving debris in the streets, and fences were toppled. Five people went to hospital with injuries. “It’s very similar to Hurricane Michael, which causes tremendous damage,” said Bay County spokeswoman Valerie Sale, referring to a 2018 storm.

The end of the week could bring a repeat, but worse.

Another winter storm – similar in strength and size to Tuesday’s bad weather – is expected on Friday, followed by a cold Arctic air mass over the United States. The storm will begin to take shape across the Plains on Thursday and then quickly strengthen over a 12-hour period on Friday.

Widespread damaging winds are possible across the eastern United States, including tornado-producing storms in the South. And the rain will increase the risk of flooding on rivers along the east coast.

In the Midwest and Upper Plains, forecasters are becoming increasingly confident that colder air combined with gusty winds could produce snowstorms. The storm’s exact track, which is still uncertain, will determine which cities will get snow. The forecast for Chicago is especially unclear.

The cold air mass will move south toward the Gulf Coast early next week, dropping temperatures there to below freezing in some locations. And there’s a chance of another storm hitting the East Coast on Monday and Tuesday.

Judson Jones, Hilary Howard And Amanda Holpuch reporting contributed.