High winds, pounding rain batter eastern US

A major storm brought high winds and pounding rains to much of the eastern United States on Tuesday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power into Wednesday and delaying commutes for hours.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 140,000 customers were without power in New York state and more than 100,000 were without power in Pennsylvania, according to poweroutage.us. Other communities along the East Coast also were also without electricity.

The storm washed out roads and took down trees and power lines with powerful wind gusts that reached up to 55 mph, The Associated Press reported.

Florida, which was under a state of emergency after tornadoes touched down near Fort Lauderdale, had more than 13,000 customers without power as of Wednesday morning. 

The governors of Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey and Kansas also issued emergency proclamations, warning that hazardous weather conditions were threatening their states as a blizzard swept much of the Midwest and rain and wind battered the East Coast.

Some areas of New Jersey received up to three inches of rain. In New York City, officials evacuated nearly 2,000 migrants housed in a tent complex ahead of the storm. Maine delayed the opening of all state offices until noon Wednesday, as parts of the state saw a storm that began as snow turn into rain, the AP reported.

WTOP News reported that the Chesapeake Bay Bridge saw wind gusts as high as 80 mph, which closed the bridge for four hours and affected the afternoon commute. Local reports indicated major flooding in Old Town Alexandria in northern Virginia, as the Potomac River spread inland.

Vice President Harris’s aircraft was forced to divert from Joint Base Andrews to Dulles International Airport in the Washington area “due to inclement weather,” according to the vice president's office.

Parts of New England are expected to experience some storm effects Wednesday, as heavy snow hits parts of northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Much of the Northern Plains and Western U.S. should brace for “much colder temperatures” over the coming days, the National Weather Service said.

The AP reported that at least five deaths had occurred over the course of the storms. Tornadoes in Alabama and North Carolina each killed one person. A man outside of Atlanta died when a tree fell on his car. Snow conditions on highways led to the deaths of a driver in Wisconsin and one in Michigan after collisions.