Massive Storm System Brings Snow, Tornadoes Across US; East Coast in Path

A powerful weather system is pummeling the United States with heavy snow in the Midwest, flooding in Hawaii, and severe thunderstorms moving toward the East Coast. The storm threatens the mid-Atlantic region and Washington D.C. with damaging winds and possible tornadoes by Monday.

A massive and unpredictable weather system unleashed chaos across the United States on Sunday, bringing heavy snowfall that made travel impossible in the Upper Midwest while destructive winds swept through the Plains states.

Hawaii remained under siege from dangerous flooding conditions.

Areas across the mid-South braced for powerful thunderstorms expected later in the day.

Weather experts predicted the storm system would move eastward by Monday, putting mid-Atlantic regions and the nation’s capital at highest risk for powerful winds and tornado activity.

Multiple waves of snow, wind and dangerous weather were positioned to strike the eastern United States, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys.

In addition to threats to human safety and property damage, “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,” Roys explained.

Heavy Snow Blankets Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan

A region stretching from central Wisconsin to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was forecast to receive more than 2 feet of snow, with even higher amounts possible in isolated areas of the peninsula, Roys noted. Smaller snow totals in cities like Chicago and Milwaukee were still expected to cause significant problems for Monday morning commuters, he said.

More than 20 inches of snow had already accumulated in parts of southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin by Sunday afternoon, based on National Weather Service data. Transportation authorities issued warnings about deteriorating conditions with poor visibility and snow-covered roads.

Wisconsin snowplow operator Aaron Haas described it as among the most severe storms he had witnessed in years. Working around Marshfield on Sunday, Haas was creating snow piles as tall as his truck.

“You can’t see anything when you’re on the highways outside of the city,” he stated.

Jim Allen, a 45-year-old Upper Peninsula resident, said his family gathered essential supplies and he prepared to clear snow multiple times Sunday using both a shovel and snowblower.

“We’re basically prepared to just kind of hunker down for a few days if we need to,” Allen explained.

FlightAware, which monitors flight disruptions, reported over 600 canceled flights at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Sunday. Detroit also saw dozens of additional cancellations. Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway international airports, where rain and snow were forecast overnight into Monday, experienced more than 850 flight cancellations.

Landslides, Rescues, Home Collapse on Maui

Rainfall persisted Sunday in Hawaii, where vast areas of farmland and residential properties have been inundated, roadways have been shut down and emergency shelters established. PowerOutage.us, which monitors nationwide electrical disruptions, showed nearly 40,000 Hawaii customers without power by midday Sunday.

Flash flooding has created major challenges recently across Maui, Molokai and the Big Island, where precipitation was falling at rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour overnight, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency reported.

Certain areas of Maui recorded over 20 inches of rainfall, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen announced in a late Saturday social media update.

“We’re seeing flooding, landslides, sinkholes, debris and downed power lines across the county,” he stated. Using Hawaiian language to express appreciation, the mayor added, “mahalo for continuing to look out for one another.”

Video content accompanying Bissen’s message displayed washed-out or collapsed roadways, a vehicle trapped by floodwaters and raging waterways. National Guard personnel and fire department crews conducted numerous floodwater rescues, Bissen reported.

Tom and Carrie Bashaw said they were powerless to stop part of their Maui home in Iao Valley from collapsing under rising waters. On Friday, the water’s strength began overwhelming nearby trees.

“When we lost the mango and monkey pod, we started throwing stuff in bags and packing up,” Tom Bashaw told HawaiiNewsNow. They returned Saturday morning and “the whole backside of the house” was gone, he said.

Maui resident and real estate professional Jesse Wald, who captured video of a coastal road’s collapse Saturday, said other road sections were flooded with mud and sediment.

“In the 20 years I’ve been here I’ve never seen this much rain,” Wald said. “I’m from Wisconsin and we get thunderstorms, you know pretty often in the summer, so it felt like a Wisconsin thunderstorm but times 10.”

Maui County later Sunday reduced an evacuation notice and reported crews were removing water from retention basins to maintain safe levels.

Power Outages Continue, Some From Earlier High Winds

Over 210,000 utility customers across six Great Lakes states remained without power Sunday afternoon, PowerOutage.us data showed. Some outages began Friday when regional wind gusts reached 85 mph.

In Nebraska, approximately 30 National Guard personnel were deployed to fight multiple wildfires burning across extensive rangeland and grassland areas, state officials announced.

The three largest wildfires had affected more than 900 square miles by Saturday, officials reported. One fire-related death occurred Friday. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen encouraged residents to follow local evacuation orders, noting that winds were “supposed to be extraordinary.”

The weather service issued high-wind warnings for most of Nebraska, with gusts up to 60 mph possible alongside falling snow. Roys said strong winds would impact an area from the U.S.-Mexico border to the Great Lakes, and from Denver east to the Appalachian Mountains.

Forecasters Issue Storm Line, Tornado Warnings

The weather service cautioned that a line of severe storms with destructive winds would cross much of the Eastern United States by late Monday. The system was set to begin Sunday afternoon and move through the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys.

The storm threat was expected to reach the Appalachians early Monday, then advance toward the East Coast, where “severe thunderstorms with widespread damaging winds and several tornadoes” were forecast for Monday, the service stated.

An area from parts of South Carolina to Maryland appeared most likely to experience the strongest damaging winds Monday afternoon, the weather service indicated. This could affect Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia, and Washington D.C. An elevated but lower risk extended north to New York and south to Florida, with thunderstorms possible in New England.

Officials announced that schools in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, North Carolina would remain closed Monday and the state’s governor encouraged residents to activate emergency alerts on their phones ahead of expected wind gusts of 74 mph.