Weekly Wrap-Up: Rounds of Snow, Ice and Rain Impact 100 Million From Central to Eastern US

By Michael Kuhne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

March 6,2015; 10:50PM,EST

 

 

This week, rounds of snow, rain and ice pummeled areas from Oklahoma City to Boston, creating treacherous travel conditions and causing widespread power outages in the tens of thousands across the country.
In the wake of a storm that targeted the Midwest and Northeast Tuesday, another storm system stretching 1,500 miles followed, bringing heavy rain, ice and snow to much of the eastern United States.

More than 1,000 flights were delayed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Tuesday with hundreds more cancellations at the onset of the storm.
Treacherous travel conditions were reported across the Midwest and areas of the mid-Atlantic. In Minnesota, state police reported 278 crashes, 32 injuries, one serious and one fatal between the early morning hours and 3 p.m. local time.
As the storm pushed eastward into Pennsylvania in the afternoon and nighttime hours, more than 3,000 power outages were reported across the state as freezing rain glazed cars and trees in a shell of ice.
Due to the icy conditions, traffic was forced to a standstill on Interstate 80 westbound in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, due to a multi-vehicle crash Tuesday night.
(Twitter Photo/ Minnesota State Patrol Public Information Officer/ Lt. Tiffani Nielson/@MSPPIO)
By Wednesday, a storm system ramped up on the heels of Tuesday's storm, sending another onslaught of snow, ice and rain across a 1,500-mile stretch from the Central states into the Northeast, which caused urban flooding and travel delays.
Widespread flooding problems led to home evacuations and roadway closures in Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. A mudslide pushed a double-wide mobile home off its foundation in Pikeville, Kentucky, local emergency management reported Wednesday.
Multiple vehicles were trapped on flooded streets in Ravenna, Kentucky, local emergency management reported. One business and three homes were also flooded with numerous roads closed throughout Estill County.
Ice jams occurring along the Youghiogheny River near McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Wednesday. (Photo/Allegheny County Emergency Management)
As the storm continued to strike the Northeast Thursday, the FAA reported that LaGuardia Airport was closed due to a plane sliding off the runway.
As the Delta plane slid off the runway, a fence kept the aircraft from skidding into Flushing Bay, FDNY reported. Minor injuries were also reported with the incident.
At Newark and John F. Kennedy International airports, inbound flight delays were more than three hours due to snow and ice. At Philadelphia International Airport, inbound flights were also subject to delays up to two and a half hours, according to the FAA.
(Twitter Photo/@NYPDSpecialops)
According to Kentucky State Police, both directions of I-65 were closed Thursday with miles of trapped motorists. Emergency workers continued to assist vehicles stuck on I-24, some of which were stuck overnight. More than 50 miles of I-24 were closed in both directions.
Also this week, thousands were evacuated as a volcanic eruption in southern Chile spewed ash and lava high into the sky.
The Villarrica volcano is located in southern Chile near the town of Villarrica.
Lava activity on the volcano intensified around 3 a.m. local time which led to an explosion of lava from the volcano, according to 24 Horas, a Chilean news station, who noted that lightning accompanied the volcano during the violent eruption.

Rodrigo @RodrigoEBR

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A volcano in southern Chile named Villarrica just exploded. Photo via @CabroGoogleao

1:57 AM - 3 Mar 2015