Vermont Damage Was Part Of Widespread Disruption From Varied, Destructive Wide-Ranging U.S. Storm

Satellite view of the massive storm on Tuesday.
Its cloud cover enveloped at least two thirds
of the continental U.S. and a large
part of southern Canada. 

 The giant storm that has affected huge swaths of the United States behaved pretty much as forecast, but that's cold comfort to the people who suffered loss, damage and inconvenience.  

Sure, the storm was bad enough here in Vermont. But a lot of people had it even worse. 

The storm spun off a wide variety of weather, including deadly tornadoes in the Southeast, a blizzard in the Midwest, flooding along the East Coast, widespread flight delays and power outages. 

The storm was so varied, and so widespread, affecting so many people that it was likely to become the first weather/climate disaster of 2024 to cause more than $1 billion in damage. 

CNN reported 900,000 homes and businesses without power across the eastern United States. Additionally, 1,300 flights were canceled due to bad weather. 

Fifteen tornado reports came in from the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and parts of Georgia and South Carolina. It appears the tornadoes killed two people - the first tornado fatalities of the year. Other storms caused widespread wind destruction from central Florida to North Carolina.

The storm created an atmospheric river that curled in from the Atlantic Ocean and slammed much of the eastern United States with flooding. Two to five inches of rain combined with snow melt caused widespread flooding from Maryland to Maine. 

High water in Providence, Rhode Island and surrounding areas closed highways, flooded businesses and forced evacuations. 

In Connecticut, parts of two towns along the Yantic River were evacuated after a dam partly collapsed. Several people were rescued from flooded homes and businesses.  At least two rivers in New Jersey were above major flood stage on Wednesday. 

In coastal cities, high tides blocked some of the runoff from heavy rains from flowing into the oceans. Annapolis, Maryland had its third worst flood on record last hight. 

Basically the same issue hit Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. Strong onshore winds blocked high runoff caused by heavy rains. The water backed up through the resort town 

The problem in the Midwest was snow and cold. Parts of Iowa, Nebraska and eastern South Dakota saw 12 to 15 inches of snow Tuesday.  

The next large storm that is sure to cause more damage across the United States was already causing big problems in the Pacific Northwest. The Cascade Mountains were under a blizzard warning for the first time since 2012.

Large waves crashed into the Washington State coastline.

This new storm is likely to cause largely the same problems as the last one. It'll spin off a  new snowstorm that  is forecast to hit parts of the Midwest; another severe storm and tornado outbreak is likely in the Southeast, and the Northeast is gearing up for more heavy rain and strong winds Friday and Saturday.

El Nino, teaming up with climate change, is giving the United States a challenging winter.