By SETH BORENSTEIN, SARAH BRUMFIELD and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — From a surprising heatwave in California to blizzards burying parts of the Midwest and storms rolling into the East Coast, chaotic weather on Monday put more than half the nation’s population in the path of extreme conditions.
Airport delays and cancellations piled up in some of the nation’s largest airports, with more than 4,700 canceled across the U.S., and many schools closed early in the mid-Atlantic states, where high winds were in the forecast.
Torrential rains flooded homes and washed out roads in Hawaii while dry and windy conditions were charging the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s history.
In Washington, the House and Senate postponed votes, and federal agencies told workers to go home early. But by late afternoon, the expected rough weather had failed to develop and a tornado watch expired.
The private weather service AccuWeather calculated that more than 200 million people were under threat Monday of some kind of dangerous weather.
Those range from extreme heat and wildfire advisories to flood and freeze watches from the National Weather Service.
Forecasters warn about line of storms, tornadoes
The storm system that dropped snow by the foot in the Midwest, causing whiteout conditions in some areas, barreled toward the East Coast, dropping heavy rain, threatening high winds and prompting multiple tornado warnings.
The biggest threat for severe weather stretched from New Jersey to Virginia.
In New York City, officials warned of the potential for swift wind gusts overnight that could knock down tree limbs.
Four people, including a child, died Monday afternoon in New York City after a fire in a three-story apartment building spread during heavy winds.
The National Weather Service confirmed four tornadoes in Missouri on Sunday that caused roof and tree damage. No injuries were reported.
Big snows in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan
Blizzard conditions continued in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Monday after the storm walloped parts of Wisconsin and Michigan with several feet of snow.
Since Saturday, nearly 3 feet (61 centimeters) had fallen in the northern Wisconsin town of Mountain.
Another round of snow and gusts on Monday could bring another foot of snow across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Temperatures will soar into triple digits in the West
A heat dome over the Southwest will push temperatures well into the triple digits in Arizona most of the week, much earlier than normal.
California is starting to feel like summer too. The San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento will see temperatures pushing toward 90 F (32 C) by midweek.
“This is technically still winter,” LA Mayor Karen Bass said Monday. “This is not normal for March, obviously, but it is a sign of how climate change is impacting our city.”
While temperatures are expected to reach 100 F (37.8 C), the threat of wildfires around Los Angeles is relatively low because winds will be light.
Phoenix is expected to have five straight days of triple digit temperatures this week — only once before, in 1988, has the city recorded a 100 F day in March, DePodwin said.
“This is a heat wave that we have not seen before in recorded history in the Southwest,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Dan DePodwin.
Dry and windy conditions were charging the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s history. Three fires in the state have consumed more than 1,140 square miles (about 2,953 square kilometers) of mostly grassland.
“Mother Nature is throwing a doozy at us,” Gov. Jim Pillen said Monday.
Landslides, rescues, collapsed home on Maui
Unrelenting rains triggered landslides, washed away roads and flooded homes and farmland in Hawaii over the weekend.
All of Hawaii’s islands had spots with more than 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain while parts of Maui were overwhelmed with double that amount, the weather service said.
While the worst of the storm has passed, more heavy rain is expected later this week. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said there were no reports of injuries or deaths and crews were assessing damage.
Storm will bring cold into the East Coast
Forecasters said the East Coast storms were expected to leave sharply colder weather in its wake.
The storm will stick around parts of the Northeast until Tuesday morning. By then, wind chills below freezing were expected to reach the Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle with warnings in effect across the Southeast and in part of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas, forecasters warned.
To the north, rain was expected to change over to snow behind the cold front with heavy snow possible in the central Appalachians of West Virginia.
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Brumfield reported from Cockeysville, Maryland, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; Julie Walker in New York; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; and Gary Fields in Washington contributed.