March 4 (UPI) — Some 80 million people from Colorado to Maine were under winter weather alerts as snow and rain were expected to batter the Eastern United States into Monday morning.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a State of the Emergency starting at 3 p.m. Sunday banning traffic from most state highways.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the Department of Transportation had shifted resources to areas that would be most affected by the downpour, including the Capital, Mid-Hudson and Long Island regions.
“Extreme weather is the new norm, and we have another anticipated snow event that is expected to impact most of the state tonight. I am urging New Yorkers to prepare for messy and potentially dangerous travel conditions,” Cuomo said in a statement. “We have learned from experience that it is better to be over-prepared in these situations — if you’re not prepared before the storm, it is too late.”
Meanwhile, New York City Public Schools announced on Twitter Sunday that schools would be closed Monday.
And while New York and southwestern New England were receiving snow Sunday night, South Carolina, the Florida panhandle and Georgia, which had already experienced tornadoes during the day, were battered with extreme thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service Eastern Region.
A tornado watch had been issued until 11 p.m. for Georgia and South Carolina, as the southern United States was experiencing severe weather as well.
In Alabama, at least 23 people died due to tornadoes that touched down earlier in the day.
Some 42,000 homes and businesses in Alabama and Georgia were without power due to the storms, and a “freeze warning” was issued for parts of Alabama as temperatures were to drop to the high 20s and stay that low into Monday morning.
