Winter storm warnings: Flash flooding continues as weekend threatens repeat storms

Flight cancellations are hitting the Seattle-Tacoma airport hard today as extreme weather also impacts the Pacific Northwest.

83 flights arriving at or departing from the Seattle-Tacoma airport have been cancelled as of Monday morning, according to FlightAware. Currently, the Seattle region is under several warnings, including a high wind warning and winter weather warning, Fox13 Seattle reports.

Almost every state is under a weather alert today, the National Weather Service reports.

As of Monday, the only state without any alerts is North Dakota.

With a “ferocious” winter storm blasting the midwest, Storm Finn putting the Gulf Coast on tornado watch and blizzards dropping several inches of snow on the northeast, extreme weather has hit nearly the entire country over the past several days.

Extreme weather across the US has impacted travel since this weekend — and as the number of flight cancellations Monday morning approaches 2,500, that trend appears to be sticking around.

2,451 flights within, into, or out of the United States were delayed so far today, with cancelled flights approaching 500 as of Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, travellers on Sunday say 7,682 delays within, into, or out of the United States. Saturday brought similar chaos, with nearly 8,000 delays.

Thanks to a winter blizzard bringing a “ferocious” storm with whiteouts and high wind gusts, travel in the midwest region of the US will be “extremely dangerous to impossible,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warns.

Meteorologists advised those who must travel to bring a winter survival kit as wind chills are forecasted to bring subzero temperatures. Wind gusts are expected to reach 60-70 miles per hour, according to the NWS.

Travel will also become dangerous in the Gulf Coast region through Wednesday as Storm Finn brings flash flooding and heavy winds.

A young girl in California was injured after a large tree was toppled by high winds and pinned her to the ground, NBC Los Angeles reports.

The incident occurred on Sunday at Melrose Trading Post, a popular flea market in Los Angeles. A bystander helped her escape and she was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. It’s unclear how severe her injuries are, according to NBC Los Angeles.

The tree toppled amid high winds in Southern California that blew through the region at up to 50 miles per hour, CBS News reports.

More than 10,000 customers in both California and Texas are without power as of Monday afternoon, PowerOutage.us reports.

These outages come as California recovers from high winds of up to 50 miles per hour on Sunday and southeastern Texas braces for Storm Finn.

The entire Gulf Coast is currently under a high wind warning as meteorologists forecast possible tornadoes in the region overnight.

More than 12 million people in north Florida, southeast Alabama, the Carolina Piedmont and the Carolina Coastal Plain are under enhanced thunderstorm warnings for Tuesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts.

These thunderstorms will also bring a risk for “very strong and damaging wind gusts and a few strong tornadoes,” as Storm Finn continues to wreak havoc into Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the (NWS).

Yet another devastating winter storm is forecasted to hit the midwest US late this week, meteorologists say.

The storm will travel from Oklahoma City to Detroit on Friday through Saturday. The storm may classify as a “bomb cyclone,” The Washington Post reports, potentially setting low-pressure records.

The storm is forecasted to bring snow and wind, as well as a surge of warm air and rain along the northern Gulf Coast.

Residents of the Gulf Coast should prepare for nighttime tornadoes to sweep through the region, the National Weather Service (NWS) warns.

In the New Orleans, Louisiana region in particular, tornadoes are most likely to strike 7pm through 3am local time, NWS meteorologist Megan Williams told The Independent.

Residents should take safety measures to protect themselves, including turning their phone volumes on to ensure they wake up for alerts and seeking sturdy shelter, Ms Williams said.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a tornado watch until 9 pm local time from Houston, Texas to Franklin, Louisiana.

The warning affects nearly 9 million people, 2,295 schools and 212 hospitals, according to the NWS.

Residents should sleep with their phone volumes on to ensure an emergency alert wakes them up, meteorologist Megan Williams told The Independent.