Winter storm updates: Joint inquiry after widespread power outages

The worst of the historic winter storm is likely behind western New York as temperatures rose Wednesday, a trend meteorologists say was expected to spread across large swaths of the U.S.

But community members were still reeling from the storm's devastating impacts this week. The death toll in Erie County, which contains Buffalo – the area hardest hit in the storm – rose to 37on Wednesday, officials confirmed on Twitter.

Along with burying the city with more than 50 inches of snow since Christmas Eve, the storm carried frigid temperatures and extreme winds – with gusts measured stronger than 70 mph at times, according to the National Weather Service.

Those conditions were expected to dissipate Wednesday as temperatures rise into the 40s and 50s throughout the week. Some rain was in the forecast, which along with melted snow, could bring possible flooding.

"It looks like the worst could be behind them," Brian Thompson, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, told USA TODAY.

Conditions across the U.S. were also expected to warm, with some areas, including the Midwest, seeing temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above average, Thompson said.

Meanwhile in the West, the National Weather Service said Wednesday morning that an active and powerful wet system is expected to hit the Western half of the country over the next few days – with forecasts of moderate to heavy rain, mountain snow, and potential flood risks.

Numerous deaths were reported in Oregon as the storm brought powerful wind gusts.

More weather news from USA TODAY:

Windy storm on West Coast leaves 5 dead

Dangerous wind gusts and snow in Oregon on Tuesday caused at least three fatal car accidents, according to preliminary police investigations.

Three people were killed, including a 4-year-old girl, after a large tree fell on their pickup truck as they were driving on U.S. 26, about 15 miles east of the coastline, Oregon State Police said in a news release. All three were deceased when first responders arrived at the scene.

Another motorist was killed when a large tree fell on the cab of the commercial truck he was driving further east on U.S. 26 on Mount Hood, state police said. The 53-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

A driver was injured and a passenger died after a tree fell on their pickup truck while they were driving on Interstate 84 near Cascade Locks in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon State Police said. The driver was taken to a hospital.

All incidents were attributed to severe weather, state police said.

Southwest cancels more flights

Southwest Airlines travelers were still struggling Wednesday with canceled flights and lost luggage.

More than 2,500 Southwest flights are canceled Wednesday, after roughly 5,600 cancellations across Monday and Tuesday, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight status in real time. FlightAware is already reporting more than 2,300 Southwest cancellations for Thursday.

"We are past the point where (Southwest) could say this is a weather-driven issue," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg told Good Morning America on Wednesday, noting that, while the rest of the aviation system was down to a rate of about 4% of flights being canceled Wednesday morning, Southwest saw a rate higher than 60%.

"What this indicates is a system failure," Buttigieg told GMA. "They need to make sure these stranded passengers get to where they need to go and that they're provided adequate compensation, not just for the flight itself... but also things like hotels, like ground transportation (and) meals – because this is the airline's responsibility."

Earlier this week, President Joe Biden said his administration would hold airlines accountable for the mass cancellations. The Department of Transportation said it would examine Southwest Airlines' cancellations.

Airlines could see further problems later in the week as temperatures rise east of the Rocky Mountains and fog becomes a larger factor.

WHAT TRAVELERS SHOULD KNOW:Nearly 2/3 of Southwest flights canceled

FLIGHTS CANCELED:1,000 Southwest flyers sleep overnight at Denver airport

Joint inquiry into storm's widespread power outages

The winter storm that rattled much of the U.S. over the holiday weekend also left millions in the dark, with widespread power outages reported across the country.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, North American Electric Reliability Corporation and regional entities announced Wednesday that they would open a joint inquiry "into the operations of the bulk power system during the extreme winter weather conditions that occurred" during the winter storm.

While most of the outages were from the weather's impact on local utilities' electric distribution facilities, the NERC noted that some utilities initiated rolling blackouts in some parts of the southeast, including Tennessee and North Carolina. In other regions, the bulk power system was also "significantly stressed."

The winter storm's effects “demonstrate yet again that our bulk power system is critical to public safety and health,” FERC chairman Rich Glick said in a statement. “The joint inquiry with NERC we are announcing today will allow us to dig deeper into exactly what happened so we can further protect the reliability of the grid.”

Death toll increases as National Guard goes door to door

The death toll in Erie County rose to 37 on Wednesday, officials confirmed on Twitter.

Of the 37 deaths, 29 were in Buffalo, 7 were in the suburbs and 1 is unknown, according to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. As of Wednesday night, there are multiple unidentified bodies.

The county is facing the possibility of finding more victims in the coming days. On Wednesday, the National Guard was going door to door in parts of Buffalo and its suburbs to check on people who had lost power.

Poloncarz said that officials are "fearful that there are (more) individuals who may have perished" during the storm.

"I offer my deepest condolences and sympathies to the individuals who've lost loved ones," Poloncarz said Wednesday. "I understand that every time that the Christmas season comes along people are going to remember the storm and the death of their loved one. And the stories are just heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking."

Poloncarz pointed to the death of a man who went out into the storm "to get food and provisions for his pregnant wife who was about to give birth ... (but) didn't make it back home." The Buffalo News reported that the man, identified as Abdul Sharifu, 26, was found dead outside on Saturday.

Sharifu's cousin, Ali Sharifu, told the outlet that Abdul Sharifu was working toward buying a home for his family and "was so excited to become a father."

Other victims were also identified by their families.

Carolyn Eubanks, who relied on an oxygen machine, had collapsed after her Buffalo home lost power. At the time, emergency workers were unable to respond to calls, her son Antwaine Parker told The Buffalo News.

“She’s like, ‘I can’t go no further.’ I’m begging her, ‘Mom, just stand up.’ She fell in my arms and never spoke another word,” Parker told the newspaper.

Monique Alexander, 52, was found buried in snow after going out in the storm, her daughter Casey Maccarone told The Buffalo News. It is unknown why Alexander left her home.

Anndel Taylor, 22, died in her car after it got stuck on her way home from work, her family told WSOC-TV.

Victim identified in Niagara County

The Niagara County Sheriff's Office identified a 27-year-old man who was found dead on Dec. 25 in Lockport, New York, — a town about 29 miles northeast of Buffalo.

Police received reports of two individuals unconscious in a residence that was "overcome with carbon monoxide," the sheriff's office said.

The 27-year-old male was pronounced dead at the scene due to carbon monoxide poisoning and was later identified as Timothy M. Murphy. The other individual who was found at the scene has been identified as Kathy D. Murphy and is currently being treated at a hospital.

Heavy rain, snow slams West Coast; thousands without power

Atmospheric rivers were drenching the West Coast and the Rockies with heavy rain, winds, and snow throughout the week, experts say, leaving 11 states in the West under weather alerts Wednesday.

The next seven days will see rainfall totals ranging from two to six inches in coastal areas out West, "with higher terrain expected to receive several feet of snow," the National Weather Service's Prediction Center said on Twitter.

The region, particularly parts of southern and central California, may also see some scattered flash floods, "with the greatest chances for rapid runoff and debris flows near recent burn scars," the weather service said Wednesday morning.

'A very wet system':West Coast drenched by atmospheric rivers, raising flood risks

Amid the active wet system moving through the West, thousands have experienced power outages. About 100,000 electric customers in Washington, Oregon, and California combined were in the dark early Wednesday, according to counts by PowerOutage.us. By the afternoon, outages in the three states dropped to closer to 70,000.

Storm surpasses death toll of 1977 Buffalo-area blizzard

The growing death toll in the Buffalo area reached a grim milestone Tuesday after it surpassed the death toll in the Blizzard of January 1977 – widely regarded as the region's worst storm in recent history that killed 29 people over four days, including 12 who were found frozen in stranded cars, The Associated Press reported.

On Wednesday, officials said the number of deaths increased from 31 to 34.

The storm had surprisingly little snowfall, only about 12 inches in Buffalo, but brought sustained, deadly cold temperatures into the area for weeks. Blizzard-condition winds lasted for nine consecutive hours, with zero visibility for 13 consecutive hours.

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Powerful winds instead blew loose snow from previous storms from frozen Lake Erie onto land, creating huge snowdrifts and fully burying houses and cars.

The 1977 "storm is the benchmark storm for the Buffalo area," Thompson said. "This storm certainly seems like it now has become the deadliest storm in the Buffalo area."

Thompson noted decades of blizzards across the U.S. that have left hundreds dead, including the 1993 Storm of the Century, which killed more than 300 people in more than a dozen states. It is regarded as the second-most costliest winter storm on record, according to federal weather records.

Contributing: Cady Stanton and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

Massive California storms pummels state with heavy rain and winds

Looking for updates on California storms? Follow our latest coverage here.

SAN FRANCISCO – California declared a state of emergency Wednesday as a powerful storm generated 45-foot waves out at sea, dropped soaking rain on already saturated ground, and prompted warnings of floods and mudslides, knocking out power to more than 100,000 people.

The storm was expected to dump up to 6 inches of rain in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area where most of the region would remain under flood warnings into late Thursday night. In Southern California, the storm was expected to peak in intensity overnight into early Thursday morning with Santa Barbara and Ventura counties likely to see the most rain, forecasters said.

On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom authorized state National Guard units to support disaster response as a massive storm pummeled much of the state's coastline.

Fire and rescue equipment and personnel have been prepositioned in areas deemed most likely to experience severe flooding and mudflows.

GRAPHICS:'Rivers in the sky': Graphics show atmospheric river soaking California's Bay Area

"If you've still got power, it's a good idea to charge your cellphone, computers and tablets now while you can," said National Weather Service meteorologist Cynthia Palmer in the agency's San Francisco area office. If the power goes out, having access to timely information about the storm – and something to watch – will be useful, she said.

The storm is termed a "bomb cyclone" because it is expected to be marked by a quick drop in atmospheric pressure resulting in a high-intensity storm.

"All told it's about a 30-hour event from start to finish," said Rick Canepa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's San Francisco office. "The rain won't be done until Thursday afternoon or early evening."

Severe weather could drop 10 or more inches of rain in some parts of Northern California over the next week, forecasters say. Wednesday's storm was expected to knock down trees, cause widespread flooding, wash out roads, cause hillsides to collapse, slow airports and potentially lead to the "loss of human life," the National Weather Service said.

But officials warn even then the danger isn't over. Forecasters are watching other systems out at sea that could also hit the region with more precipitation.

Meanwhile, California wasn't the only place facing severe weather on Wednesday. A possible tornado touched down near Montgomery, Alabama, early Wednesday. There were no deaths but the twister damaged more than 50 homes.

Flood-related deaths confirmed in Sacramento; motorists rescued

Two more bodies were found Wednesday after flooding in a rural part of south Sacramento County, authorities said, bringing the death toll from the atmospheric river storm on New Year's Eve to three.

The third body was found in a vehicle that was submerged in water , said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a Sacramento County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

The victim had not been identified and there was no additional information about the incident, Gandhi said Wednesday night.

During the morning, California Highway Patrol officers found the body of a woman while recovering vehicles that got stuck due to flooding.

On Sunday, authorities discovered the body of a man inside a submerged vehicle. Gandhi said rescue efforts in Sacramento County are ongoing.

Elsewhere across Northern California communities, several motorists were rescued from flooded roads and fallen trees.

The San Francisco Fire Department rescued a family Wednesday night after fallen trees on a city road trapped the family.

California residents face outages

With heavy rain saturating the ground and strong winds, trees are more likely to fall and can cause widespread power outages, according to Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources.

Officials and power companies warned residents to prepare for possible outages due to the storm by creating emergency kits and keeping essential devices charged.

Nearly 178,000 homes and businesses were in the dark Wednesday night, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages. Most outages were reported on the north coast of the state.

Helping homeless people from storm

At the foot of San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood, Magaly Rowell waited for her bus under an umbrella at what passes for a bus shelter next to Precita Park. She was defying the elements not because of her job at a security company, but to feed homeless people at a nearby church, something Rowell said she does daily.

“It’s not so bad if there’s no wind,” Rowell said as her umbrella got pelted by the rain and torrents of water flowed down Folsom Street. “It gets harder when the wind picks up like today. I worry about the homeless people. They’re the ones who suffer the most when the weather gets like this.”

Evacuations ordered in coastal cities

Officials in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara issued evacuation orders Wednesday as the huge storm puts the coastal areas at high risk due to potential mudslides and flooding.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for those living in burn scar areas in Santa Barbara County due to potential flooding and debris flows, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown announced during a Wednesday news conference.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office issued numerous evacuation orders for southern parts of the county throughout Wednesday due to concerns over potential flooding and debris flow from storm conditions.

Flight disruptions amid powerful storm

With its high winds and heavy rains, the storm is already causing flight disruptions in the Bay Area with more anticipated to come as the peak approaches.

As of Wednesday afternoon, San Francisco International Airport has experienced 74 flight cancellations, accounting for 8% of all flights.

About 191 flights have been delayed by an average of 35 minutes, according to Doug Yakel, a public information officer for the airport. "Delays and cancellations are a result of both the reduced ceilings and winds," he told USA TODAY.

"In regards to general airport operations here at OAK, our operations team is prepared," a spokesperson for Oakland International Airport told USA TODAY. Passengers with flights to and from Oakland are strongly encouraged to check with their airline through their mobile app or website for updates on their flights.

Travel waivers for flights disrupted by California's "bomb cyclone":

Southwest Airlines is offering free rebooking for flights scheduled for Wednesday, for flights to and from Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Jose. The rebooking must have the same city pairs and travel dates within 14 days of the original travel date.

On Wednesday night, Delta Air Lines issued a travel waiver for flights scheduled on Thursday and Friday to or from San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, and Fresno. The fare difference will be waived when the rebooked travel takes place on or before Jan. 8.

Residents brace for floods

In San Francisco, customers at Papenhausen Hardware were most worried about flooding, said store co-owner Karl Aguilar.

“Last week a fair amount of people were focused on the roofs – small leaks, windows, things like that,’’ Aguilar said. “There was a point where it transitioned and people became much more concerned with flooding mitigation. This particular storm, it’s all flood mitigation.’’

A few doors to the east, Grace Daryanani at Bulls Head restaurant has sandbags and wet/dry vacuum cleaners at the ready. Her space has flooded in big storms before but she's hoping a new outdoor dining area might divert some of the water.

“Maybe that will help," she said.

LEARN MORE:What is a bomb cyclone?

WEATHER TERMS:What is an 'atmospheric river'?

Wind gusts as high as 80 mph

Forecasters warned of flood threats and issued high wind warnings in the lead-up to the storm. The National Weather Service in the Bay Area delivered a rare admonition saying the coming "brutal" storm system "needs to be taken seriously."

"Honestly, the biggest story right now is the winds," said Palmer. Coastal areas could be hit with winds in the 40 to 50 mph range, while some mountain areas could get gusts as high as 80 mph.

Flooding and landslides likely

Because the ground was already saturated with the more than 5 inches of rain that fell on New Year's Eve, Wednesday's storm could cause severe problems and damage in some areas.

"The main concern is the smaller watersheds and steep slopes. So mudslides, shallow landslides and urban and small creek flooding could get quite significant for a period of time on Wednesday night in some locations," said Daniel Swain, a climatologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Severe weather, possible tornadoes in South

The South, too, was being hit with intense weather Wednesday. Heavy rains, flash floods and severe weather were seen in a swath across Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina.

A possible tornado touched down in east Montgomery, Alabama at 3:14 a.m. on Wednesday.

Rodney Penn, who was home when the storm hit, said a fallen tree limb broke out the windows in his wife's car but there was no structural damage to his apartment.

“It literally sounded like there were a thousand baseball bats hitting the side of the house at the same time,” Penn said.

In South Carolina, five counties were under a tornado watch Wednesday.

Heavy rain in California not an end to drought in West

The extreme drought conditions California has struggled under are helping avert some possible flooding because many of the state's larger reservoirs are still quite low, said Swain.

"They have a lot of headroom right now to absorb a lot of water," he said.

The state finds itself in the middle of a flood emergency even as it's in the middle of a drought emergency, Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources said during a news conference Wednesday.

"A lot of our trees are stressed after three years of intensive drought, the ground is saturated and there is a significant chance of downed trees that will create significant problems, potentially flooding problems, potentially power problems," she said.

While the rains are likely to alleviate the short-term drought in Northern California along the coast, they will do little in terms of bringing drought relief to the West as a whole.

"It won't really help move the needle in the Colorado basin but it certainly will in central and northern California," Swain said.

More water is on the way

There are two more possible storms also out in the Pacific, one that could arrive late Friday and run into Sunday and then another possible storm that could arrive Tuesday, Canepa said.

Both could bring higher-than-normal rain levels through the middle of January.

There's a wide range of uncertainty for next week, ranging from a couple of additional moderate storms which wouldn't cause too many problems to one or possibly more atmospheric river events.

What's an atmospheric river?

The storm, the second of three or possibly four headed toward the California coast, is coming from across the Pacific ocean. It's what's known as an atmospheric river or, to use the term more common a few years ago, a Pineapple Express because it originates over Hawaii.

These storms bring heavy rainfall and occur when a line of warm, moist air flows from near the islands across the Pacific Ocean to the West Coast.

When it reaches the cooler air over the western landmass, the water vapor falls as heavy rain. Atmospheric rivers are long, flowing regions of the atmosphere that carry water vapor across a swath of sky 250 to 375 miles wide. They can be more than 1,000 miles long – and can carry more water than the Mississippi River.

Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver and Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY; Evan Mealins and Alex Gladden, Montgomery Advertiser; Hannah Workman, The Record

Hawaii blizzard: Warning canceled; storms, flooding loom for islands

A powerful storm system pounded Hawaii on Monday with heavy rain, and forecasters warned of a chance for "dangerous" and "catastrophic" flooding in some parts of the state throughout Monday night and well into Tuesday.

More than 2 feet of rain is possible in some areas; widespread amounts of 10 to 15 inches are likely.

"Expect widespread heavy rainfall with this system, especially under the large heavy rain band, capable of producing catastrophic flooding, and strong gusty southerly winds through Wednesday," the National Weather Service in Honolulu said.

Flood watches have been issued for all of the islands and will remain in effect until Tuesday, AccuWeather said. Oahu and Kauai islands face the greatest threat of flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

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Hawaii Gov. David Ige declared a state of emergency for the entire state Monday afternoon and urged residents to prepare for major flooding, landslides, road closures and damage to homes.

“Now is the time to make sure you have an emergency plan in place and supplies ready should you need to move away from rising water,” the governor said in a news release.

The state of emergency will continue through Dec. 10.

Such heavy rain could cause flooding in areas that don't normally flood, the National Weather Service warned, and numerous landslides are expected.

"Low spots in roads will become dangerous and impassable due to severe runoff. Debris in streams and gulches may clog bridges and culverts resulting in dangerous flooding," the Weather Service said.

On Oahu, where four shelters had been opened, most of the beaches in Waikiki were empty Monday as only a few people walked with umbrellas during passing heavy showers. Roadways were flooding in the area and cars crept through downtown as water gushed out of manhole covers.

On Maui, power outages and flooding already have been reported, with more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain falling in some areas.

The relentless rain forced three couples from the U.S. mainland to postpone their Maui elopements, said Nicole Bonanno, owner of Bella Bloom Floral, a wedding florist and boutique in Wailea.

Public schools in Hawaii's Maui County were closed Monday, CNN said.

As a precaution, the city and county of Honolulu planned to open four emergency shelters ahead of the Kona low storm, which is expected to hit Oahu starting tonight, Honolulu mayor Rick Blangiardi tweeted Monday morning.

Kona low storms are a type of seasonal cyclone in the Hawaiian Islands, usually formed in the winter from winds coming from the westerly "Kona" direction, the weather service said. Kona lows often bring about wet and unsettled weather.

Hawaii blizzard:Hawaii under blizzard warning with 12 inches of snow and winds up to 100 mph expected

Although the blizzard warning for the summits of Hawaii's Big Island was canceled early Monday, it continued to snow there. An additional 4 inches of snow was possible, the Weather Service said.

"Although Hawaii has the reputation of year-round warmth, snow actually makes a yearly appearance atop some of its highest peaks," AccuWeather meteorologist Lauren Hyde said.

Blizzard warnings for Hawaii are rare but not unheard of. The last blizzard warning issued by the Weather Service in Hawaii was more than 3½ years ago.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Update: Wind warnings give way to flooding, mountain snow alerts

Update at 1 p.m. Tuesday

While high winds and power outages will remain the primary concern until about 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the next hazard for travelers will be minor flooding on the Coast and heavy snow in the Cascade Mountains.

Additional rain, which turns heavy again on Thursday and Friday, should bring river levels up and a few flood-prone streams such as the Marys, Siletz and Tualatin rivers could reach action or minor stages. However, no major or widespread flooding is forecast.

The Willamette River in Salem is expected to crest at about about 19 feet on Sunday — meaning it will be very high but not at action or flood stages that tend to bring heavier impact.

Higher in the mountains, however, travel could become more challenging. A winter storm warning remains in effect through Wednesday for snowfall totaling 8 to 15 inches on Oregon's highest Cascade Range summits including Santiam Pass (Highway 20) and Willamette Pass (Highway 58). Additional mountain snow is expected late in the week, turning to lighter snow by the weekend.

The snow mainly falling above 4,000 feet, but also includes high winds gusting up to 65 mph through early Wednesday.

Snow continues through late in the week and into the weekend, but the weather could mellow out enough for skiers to head the slopes.

Likewise, those in the valley will find ideal waterfall-hunting conditions over the weekend after the rain gives them some extra power but temperatures are warm enough to make travel to places such as Silver Falls State Park safe.

Update 9:45 a.m. Tuesday

Strong winds have caused power outages throughout the Willamette Valley and thousands of people are reportedly impacted.

Portland General Electric is reporting more than 230 outages across Marion County. Most are caused by high winds, according to the company's outage map.

More than 10,000 people have been impacted by outages in Silverton as of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and roughly 1,500 people in Mt. Angel are without power.

PGE said crews are being dispatched "as quickly as safety allows."

Salem Electric has not received reports of outages in its network as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday but will update its Facebook page if it does, a spokesperson said.

Original story:

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory from 2 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in anticipation of south winds increasing Monday night into early morning, with sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 45 to 55 mph anticipated.

National Weather Service forecasters said they expect the strongest winds will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday. Some gusts may get up to 60 mph in higher terrain.

Unsecured objects and tree limbs could be blown around, and the NWS urged extra caution while driving, especially high-profile vehicles.

The high winds will affect the central and south Willamette Valley, as well as lower Columbia, the greater Portland metro area and Vancouver, Washington.

Heavy rain expectedOregon thaws, but heavy rain to bring flood risk, high winds, closed ski areas

Power outages also could occur as a result of the high winds.

Pacific Power said wind will work it's way north along the coast overnight with high winds likely in the Willamette Valley and the Portland area by Tuesday morning.

The utility urged residents to check on their emergency outage kits, keep mobile devices charged and revisit family storm preparation plans.

Residents should have the following handy in case of power outages:

Flashlights

Battery-operated radio and clocks

Extra batteries

Non-perishable foods

Manual can opener

Bottled water

Blankets

Contact reporter Miranda Cyr at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

'A very wet system': West Coast drenched by atmospheric rivers ...

Atmospheric rivers are drenching the West Coast with heavy rain, winds, and snow throughout the week, experts say, after the region evaded a brutal winter storm that slammed most of the United States over the holiday weekend.

The first in a week of storms is bringing powerful winds and flood risks from Washington state down to California Tuesday into Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. All 11 states in the West are under weather alerts from the storm.

"Basically from Oregon southward into California is positioned right now in a place where a lot of moisture is being directed from the Pacific Ocean and it's being directed right on into the terrain from the coastal ranges," weather service meteorologist Richard Bann told USA TODAY.

Bann said the moisture will move from Northern California to the north of Los Angeles and continue into the Sierra Nevada, bringing a "decent amount of rain" that has been coming down since Monday night. Some places have already received up to an inch and a half of rain in an hour, according to Bann, which raises flash flooding concerns.

"It's a very wet system," Bann said.

The weather service said there were numerous reports of roadway flooding and downed trees as the storm moved through the San Francisco Bay Area early Tuesday. Pacific Gas & Electric’s website showed numerous power outages scattered across Northern California.

Winter storm warnings were also issued for the Sierra Nevada and motorists were advised that travel can be hazardous due to some ridgetop winds already hitting 120 mph.

WINTER STORM LIVE UPDATES: Hard-hit Buffalo area braces for more snow; thaw in sight Wednesday

Path of the weather system

The storm will unleash heavy rain and mountain snow from Washington to California with rain showers moving southward into the middle of the week, AccuWeather said.

Numerous weather alerts — for heavy rain, snow, or wind — were issued by the weather service for most of central and Northern California. Coastal and central Oregon and Washington were inundated with flood watches and high wind warnings.

Following several waves of rain, snow, and ice across the Pacific Northwest, the storm will continue into the new year with as many as two more rounds of stormy weather possible, according to AccuWeather.

WHY IS SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CANCELING FLIGHTS?:Thousands of Southwest Airlines flights are canceled. Here's what travelers should know.

The most powerful area of low pressure already arrived on Monday and spreading heavy rain inland into the Northwest and southward on Tuesday. As the rain moves southward, Los Angeles and San Diego are likely to be unsettled with rain late Tuesday into Wednesday, according to the weather service.

The weather service in Sacramento said a series of storms will impact Northern California through the week with a weaker system moving in Wednesday night into Thursday ahead of another strong storm Friday and Saturday.

Two to four inches of rainfall will be widespread along the West Coast, with one to two inches possible as far south as San Luis Obispo, California, AccuWeather reported. In addition to rain, wind gusts up to 60 mph will occur in western Washington, Oregon and, Northern California.

Over a foot of snowfall is also possible across the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada by the middle of the week, according to AccuWeather.

What is an atmospheric river?

Atmospheric rivers have been said to be the cause of big weather issues along the West Coast during the winter. They are like "rivers in the sky," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and are responsible for up to 65% of the western USA's extreme rain and snow events, a 2017 study said.

Atmospheric rivers are ribbons of water vapor that can extend thousands of miles from the tropics to the western U.S. They are able to pick up water vapor from warm, moist air of tropical regions and then drop the water over land in cooler regions as rain or snow.

LOOMING CRISIS IN CALIFORNIA?:Experts warn of a disaster 'larger than any in world history.' It's not an earthquake.

Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

Hurricane Ian knocked out power to all of Cuba and is now heading ...

Editor’s Note: Affected by the storm? Use CNN’s lite site for low bandwidth.

Are you affected by Hurricane Ian? Text or WhatsApp your stories to CNN +1 332-261-0775.

¿Te ha afectado el huracán Ian? Comparte tu historia por mensaje de texto o por WhatsApp a +1 332-261-0775.

CNN —

More than 2.5 million Floridians were under some kind of evacuation warning Tuesday as Hurricane Ian marched closer to the state’s west coast after knocking out power across all of Cuba.

Southern Florida began feeling the storm’s first effects Tuesday evening, with rain and powerful winds whipping the region, and tornado threats which will last overnight. An apparent tornado at North Perry Airport in Broward County caused “significant damage” to several aircraft and hangars, Mayor Michael Udine said on Twitter.

The Category 3 storm was churning 120 mph winds Tuesday night with its center roughly 180 miles south-southwest of the city of Punta Gorda, close to where it’s expected to make landfall in less than 24 hours. City authorities there announced Tuesday night emergency services, including police and fire response will be suspended until after the storm passes, when it will be safe to resume response calls again.

For days, forecasters and Florida officials have warned this will be a dangerous storm with life-threatening storm surge and flooding and fierce winds. Tuesday night, Ian’s hurricane-force winds extended 40 miles out from its center and tropical storm-force winds extended roughly 140 miles out, with some parts of the Florida Keys reporting wind gusts stronger than 50 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“I implore, I urge everyone that is in an evacuation zone that has been asked to evacuate – the time is now. You must evacuate now. There will be a time when it will not be safe to travel the roads,” Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie warned in a news conference Tuesday evening.

“There will come a point in time when local public safety officials will not be able to respond to your cry for help. You may be left to fend for yourself,” he added.

Ian will likely make landfall Wednesday afternoon to evening between Sarasota and Port Charlotte as a Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane. (Hurricanes are designated as Category 4 when winds reach speeds of 130 mph to 156 mph.) Whichever of the two it is, one forecaster warned the storm still be a “large and destructive hurricane” for the state, urging residents to listen to local leaders’ advice.

And it’s not just southwest Florida taking a hit.

“This is going to be a lot of impacts that will be felt far and wide throughout the state of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in Tuesday evening’s news conference. “As the storm moves in, you’re going to potentially have (evacuation) directives issued from folks in the interior of our state or even the east coast of the state for low-lying areas that absolutely could end up flooding.”

All of Cuba in the dark

Ian made landfall in Cuba earlier Tuesday as a Category 3 hurricane. Tuesday night, Cuban state media reported the entire island was in a nationwide blackout. Cuban officials said the hurricane caused the power outage and they hoped to begin restoring electricity late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Earlier, state electric company Unión Eléctrica de Cuba said they would keep power off in Havana to avoid deaths and property damage until the weather improved. The company said they had turned the power off in the area ahead of the storm to avoid electrocutions and to prevent fires.

Cuba’s tobacco-rich Pinar del Rio province lost power because of the storm, according to Cuban state television. Floodwater covered fields and fallen trees lay in front of buildings in San Juan y Martinez, a town in the province, images from state media outlet Cubadebate show.

Up to 16 inches of rain and mudslides and flash flooding were possible in western Cuba, the hurricane center said. Mayelin Suarez, a resident of Pinar del Rio city, told Reuters the storm made for the darkest night of her life.

“We almost lost the roof off our house,” Suarez told Reuters. “My daughter, my husband and I tied it down with a rope to keep it from flying away.”

A man walks down a street in Havana, Cuba, on Tuesday during Hurricane Ian. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images

‘It’s becoming too late’

Of the 2.5 million Floridians under some kind of evacuation directive, more than 1.75 million were under mandatory evacuation orders Tuesday afternoon. Most were in Lee County, which encompasses Fort Myers.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for parts of counties in the hurricane warning area stretching from north of Tampa to the Fort Myers area. That included Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties in the Tampa area, Hernando, Sarasota and Charlotte counties, and parts of Lee County. Emergency shelters have been opened.

In Pinellas County, where more than 440,000 people are under mandatory evacuations, Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard told CNN Tuesday afternoon it was becoming too late for residents to leave.

“If you have not yet evacuated, if you have not yet gotten supplies, it’s becoming too late. You just need to shelter-in-place and wait out the storm,” the mayor said.

State agencies were also working to help prepare and protect senior residents, conducting on-site visits to nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the path of the storm.

Ahead of the storm, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also issued a state of emergency Tuesday, warning of heavy rainfall and damaging winds in the state later in the week.

Sign up for CNN’s free Weather Brief newsletter to get email updates on Hurricane Ian.

What the threats are

The approaching storm threatens several perils for west-central Florida:

• Storm surge: A storm surge warning – meaning the surge could threaten life – is in effect for much of Florida’s west coast, from Suwanee in the Big Bend region to the peninsula’s tip in the Everglades.

A warning also is in effect for far northeastern Florida’s coast, from near the Georgia state line down to Marineland, as well as for St. John’s River further inland.

The worst – 8 to 12 feet – is forecast for Florida’s west coast from just south of Bradenton down to Bonita Beach south of Fort Myers, the hurricane center said. Large storm surge also is possible in areas outside that zone, including Tampa Bay.

Forecasters in South Florida warned the storm surge could damage buildings and wash many away.

A broken section of road and destroyed houses are seen in Matlacha, Florida, on Saturday, October 1. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden talk to people impacted by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida, during a tour of the area on Wednesday, October 5. Evan Vucci/AP Greg Guidi, left, and Thomas Bostic unload supplies from a boat on Pine Island, Florida, on Tuesday, October 4. With the roads onto the island made impassable, people were getting supplies to the island by boat. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Members of a search-and-rescue team comb through the wreckage on Fort Myers Beach on Tuesday. Win McNamee/Getty Images Stephanie Fopiano, right, gets a hug from Kenya Taylor, both from North Port, as she gets emotional about her situation at the Venice High School hurricane shelter in Venice, Florida, on Monday, October 3. Mike Lang/USA Today Network Workers and residents clear debris from a destroyed bar in Fort Myers on Saturday, October 1. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images Beachgoers look at a large shrimping boat that was swept ashore in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday. Jonathan Drake/Reuters Local muralist Candy Miller, left, embraces Ana Kapel, the manager of the Pier Peddler, a gift shop that sold women's fashions, as she becomes emotional at the site where the store once stood on Fort Myers Beach on Friday. Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP Waters from a rain-swollen pond cover grass and a foot path around Quarterman Park in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday. Meg Kinnard/AP Members of the US Army National Guard help people evacuate from flood waters in North Port, Florida, on Friday, September 30. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Water streams past buildings on the oceanfront on Sanibel Island, Florida, on Friday. Steve Helber/AP University of Central Florida students use an inflatable mattress as they evacuate an apartment complex in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, September 30. Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentintel/AP A firefighter examines a fallen tree in Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday. Alex Brandon/AP A man tows a canoe through a flooded street of his neighborhood in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Friday. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images People wait in line to enter a Home Depot store in Cape Coral, Florida, on Friday. Many in Florida were still without power. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images The wreckage of a car teeters on a buckled roadway on Friday in Matlacha, Florida. Win McNamee/Getty Images Members of the Texas A&M Task Force 1 Search and Rescue team look for anyone needing help on Friday in Fort Myers, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images A man takes photos Thursday, September 29, of boats that were damaged by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images Bob Levitt returns to his condemned home to retrieve his cat, which he found hiding in a bedroom Thursday in Palm Beach County, Florida. A tornado spawned by the hurricane left residents homeless. Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network This aerial photo shows damaged homes and debris in Fort Myers Beach on Thursday. Wilfredo Lee/AP Jake Moses and Heather Jones explore a section of destroyed businesses in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Thursday. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/Zuma Workers in Naples, Florida, clean up debris on Thursday. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images A section of the Sanibel Causeway is seen on Thursday after it collapsed due to the effects of the storm. Steve Helber/AP Stedi Scuderi looks over her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images A resident of Orange County, Florida, and a couple of dogs are rescued from floodwaters on Thursday. From Orange County Government A boat lies partially submerged in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Thursday. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images Tom Park begins cleaning up in Punta Gorda on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images Residents of Port Charlotte, Florida, line up for free food that was being distributed from a taco truck on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images A causeway to Florida's Sanibel Island is seen on Thursday. The causeway is the only way to get to or from Sanibel and Captiva Islands to Florida's mainland. Wilfredo Lee/AP People clear a large tree off their home in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Homes are flooded in Port Charlotte on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images Jonathan Strong dives into floodwaters while he and his girlfriend, Kylie Dodd, knock on doors to help people in a flooded mobile home community in Iona, Florida, on Thursday. "I can't just sit around while my house is intact and let other people suffer," he said. "It's what we do: community helping community." Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP Brenda Brennan sits next to a boat that pushed up against her apartment building in Fort Myers on Thursday. She said the boat floated in around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images People walk along the beach looking at property damaged in Bonita Springs, Florida, on Thursday. Sean Rayford/Getty Images An Orlando resident is rescued from floodwaters on Thursday. John Raoux/AP Vehicles make their way through flooded streets in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Stefanie Karas stands in her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. She is an artist and was salvaging what she could from her home. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Heavily damaged homes are seen on Sanibel Island on Thursday. Wilfredo Lee/AP A spiral staircase lies next to a damaged pickup truck in Sanibel, Florida, on Thursday. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Presss A flooded street is seen in downtown Fort Myers after Ian made landfall on Wednesday, September 28. Marco Bello/Reuters A woman surveys damage through a door during a power outage in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Marco Bello/Reuters A satellite image shows the hurricane making landfall on the southwest coast of Florida on Wednesday. NOAA/NASA The streets of Naples, Florida, are flooded on Wednesday. City officials asked residents to shelter in place until further notice. Naples Police A woman is helped out of a muddy area Wednesday in Tampa, Florida, where water was receding due to a negative storm surge. Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Strong winds hit Punta Gorda on Wednesday. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images A woman holds an umbrella inverted by the wind in Tampa on Wednesday. Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Sailboats anchored in Roberts Bay are blown around in Venice, Florida, on Wednesday. Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS/Abaca/Reuters Melvin Phillips stands in the flooded basement of his mobile home in Stuart, Florida, on Wednesday. Crystal Vander Weit/TCPalm/USA Today Network A man walks where water was receding from Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images Damage is seen at the Kings Point condos in Delray Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian. Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network A TV crew broadcasts from the beach in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Marco Bello/Reuters Utility trucks are staged in a rural lot Wednesday in The Villages, a Florida retirement community. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/AP Highways in Tampa are empty Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Ian making landfall. Several coastal counties in western Florida were under mandatory evacuations. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters An airplane is overturned in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Wednesday. Wilfredo Lee/AP Zuram Rodriguez surveys the damage around her home in Davie, Florida, early on Wednesday. Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP People play dominoes by flashlight during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday. Crews in Cuba have been working to restore power for millions after the storm battered the western region with high winds and dangerous storm surge, causing an islandwide blackout. Ramon Espinosa/AP People walk through a flooded street in Batabano, Cuba, on Tuesday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images Southwest Airlines passengers check in near a sign that shows canceled flights at the Tampa International Airport on Tuesday. Chris O'Meara/AP Maria Llonch retrieves belongings from her home in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on Tuesday. Ramon Espinosa/AP Traffic builds along Interstate 4 in Tampa on Tuesday. Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP A man carries his children through rain and debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday. Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters People drive through debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday. Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters Frederic and Mary Herodet board up their Gulf Bistro restaurant in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on Tuesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images NASA's Artemis I rocket rolls back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday. The launch of the rocket was postponed due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Ian is seen from the International Space Station on Monday, September 26. NASA via AP Waves kick up along the shore of Batabano as Hurricane Ian reaches Cuba on Monday. Ramon Espinosa/AP A Cuban family transports personal belongings to a safe place in the Fanguito neighborhood of Havana on Monday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images A family carries a dog to a safe place in Batabano on Monday. Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images People wait in lines to fuel their vehicles at a Costco store in Orlando on Monday. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Ryan Copenhaver, manager of Siesta T's in Sarasota, Florida, installs hurricane panels over the store's windows on Monday. Mike Lang/USA Today Network A man helps pull small boats out of Cuba's Havana Bay on Monday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Imagaes Shelves are empty in a supermarket's water aisle in Kissimmee on Monday. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, Florida, references a map Monday that indicates where storm surges would impact the county. During a news conference, she urged anyone living in those areas to evacuate. Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire Sarah Peterson fills sandbags in Fort Myers Beach on September 24. Andrew West/USA Today Network In pictures: Hurricane Ian slams the Southeast Prev Next

• Rain: Totals could reach 12 inches in the Florida Keys and south Florida and up to 24 inches for central and Northeast Florida.

“The storm, when it impacts land, yes it will weaken, but it will also slow, which means it’s just going to be churning out rain, moving at a snail’s pace,” DeSantis said. “That rain is going to pile up very quickly in different parts of southwest Florida.”

Many parts of the state are already oversaturated, officials said. More than double the normal amount of rain has fallen over southern Florida in the past two weeks, with widespread amounts of more than 6 inches of water dumped over some areas. Multiple rivers across central and western Florida are also already above flood stage as Ian makes its way to the state, boosting flood risks further.

• Damaging winds: A hurricane warning – meaning winds of at least 74 mph are expected – covers about 8 million people in parts of west and central Florida – including an area from the Anclote River north of Tampa to Bonita Beach south of Fort Myers.

The National Weather Service for Miami and South Florida said powerful winds could damage buildings and blow off roofs, completely destroy mobile homes and leave some locations “uninhabitable for weeks or months.”

“You’re really looking at a multihazard, multiday-long event here in much of the western and central Florida Peninsula,” Michael Brennan, acting deputy director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told CNN on Tuesday morning.

Closures, flight cancellations ahead of Ian

The hurricane’s menacing approach to Florida triggered preparations across the state as officials announced school closures and flight cancellations, and the military began moving ships and aircraft.

All along Florida’s west coast, officials are urging residents to get out of harm’s way instead of staying to protect their property.

Tampa International Airport suspended operations at 5 p.m. Tuesday; Orlando International Airport is scheduled to do the same at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Around the state, residents were waiting in long lines Monday to fill bags of sand or pick up bottled water in preparation for the storm’s arrival.

Resident Khadijah Jones told CNN she was in line for three hours Monday to get free sandbags in Tampa, uncertain if her home will flood. “Just doing the basics … securing loose materials in the yard, sandbags in low areas, and getting items to prep for no power,” she said.

As the storm approached a slew of closures and cancellations were announced.

The HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg announced it has suspended services and transferred patients.

A utility pole lies on the street in Consolacion del Sur, Cuba, on Tuesday as Hurricane Ian passes. Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images

Colleges and universities across the state – including Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach and the University of South Florida in Tampa – are taking steps to prepare, including campus evacuations or shifting to online classes.

On the K-12 level, more than 50 school districts had announced closures by Tuesday evening.

Nouran Salahieh Jason Hanna Christina Maxouris

California weather: 14 dead as storm threatens more major flooding

LOS ANGELES — Exactly five years after a devastating mudslide killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in coastal Montecito, California, about 10,000 residents of the Santa Barbara County community and its surrounding canyons were ordered to evacuate Monday amid the downpours that continue to pound the state.

The National Weather Service said up to 8 inches of rain had fallen in 12 hours, and plenty more was expected. In the late afternoon, the service's Los Angeles office tweeted out a warning about "DANGEROUS LIFE THREATENING FLASH FLOODING'' in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

The canyon communities under evacuation orders around Montecito are below hillsides burned bare in recent years by wildfires. There were also evacuations in the city of Santa Barbara.

Showbiz personalities like Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres and former sports stars Troy Aikman and Jimmy Connors were among the celebrities impacted by the 2018 disaster in Montecito, now also home to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The death toll from the onslaught of violent storms sweeping California rose to 14 on Monday as two major episodes promised more devastation and up to a foot of rain. The death toll does not include a 5-year-old boy who was swept away by floodwaters and whose fate remains unknown.

The weather service warned that parts of the Sacramento area, which has been battered by high winds and overwhelming rains, could see 12 inches of rain by Wednesday night.

Santa Cruz County has also taken a big hit: Mudslides closed both southbound lanes of scenic Highway 17 and the Browns Valley Road Bridge collapsed into the small river beneath it.

"Two of the more energetic and moisture-laden parade of cyclones ... are aiming directly for California," the weather service forecast said. "The cumulative effect of successive heavy rainfall events will lead to ... rapid water rises, mudslides and the potential for major river flooding."

The first episode hit the state early Monday and was expected to dump up to 5 inches of rain on the central California coast, the weather service said. Another, due Tuesday, will primarily target locations farther south into Southern California.

"Flooding from Northern to Central California is expected to be widespread, even catastrophic in some locations around the coastal mountains and the northern and central Sierra," AccuWeather meteorologist Joe Bauer said. He said more than a dozen monitored river locations are forecast to be above flood stage.

President Joe Biden, citing "emergency conditions resulting from successive and severe winter storms, flooding, and mudslides," declared a federal emergency late Sunday, ordering federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts.

NEWSOME DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY:California Gov. Newsom asks Biden administration to declare federal emergency ahead of brutal storms

Other developments:

The U.S. Forest Service issued an avalanche warning until Wednesday for the greater Lake Tahoe area. Parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada are also under avalanche warnings.

Residents of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and Solano counties in the greater San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey in central California are under evacuation orders or warnings.

Nearly 140,000 homes and businesses across the state were without power early Monday, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us.

The Los Angeles area braced for up to 8 inches of rain in foothill areas. High surf was expected through Tuesday. Wind gusts could exceed 60 mph at the coast and 70 mph in the mountains, prompting the weather service to post a wind advisory for portions of southwest California through 10 p.m. Monday.

WHAT IS AN 'ATMOSPHERIC RIVER'? These rivers of water vapor can extend thousands of miles.

Vehicles submerged in water, sinkhole swallows 2 cars in Los Angeles

The major storm will affect southern California through Tuesday and is expected to bring heavy rain, damaging winds, and a slight chance of thunderstorms, the weather service in Los Angeles warned Monday.

Widespread and significant flooding is expected on urban roads and rivers, the weather service said. Storm conditions will also cause hazardous driving conditions and potential power outages.

There is a potential for as much as 8 inches of rain in the Los Angeles foothill area late Monday and Tuesday. The weather service also issued high surf advisories along the coast.

Vehicles were seen submerged in water Monday in some parts of the city. A sinkhole swallowed two vehicles in the Chatsworth area, in northeast Los Angeles, late Monday. Authorities said two people escaped by themselves and firefighters used ropes and an aerial ladder to rescue two others who had minor injuries.

18 people rescued from Ventura River amid flash flood warning

Eighteen people were rescued after being trapped on an island in the Ventura River in western Ventura County on Monday afternoon amid heavy rain and flooding.

The Ventura County Fire Department reported that of the 18 victims, one person required medical attention for minor injuries, seven people were rescued using a ladder, seven others were rescued by the aerial team and four people were able to walk out.

The county was hit with severe flooding and mudslides due to continuous heavy rain from the latest atmospheric river. A flash flood warning was issued for all of southern Ventura County, which is expected to last through Tuesday as another storm front moves into the area overnight.

Flash flood warning in Santa Cruz and surroundings

The weather service's Bay Area office issued a flash flood warning through 3:45 p.m. PST for Santa Cruz and surrounding communities, home to more than 260,000 people and 75 schools. The bureau also tweeted a video showing Highway 101 -- a major artery -- "has turned into a moving river'' and advising motorists not to drive into flood waters.

Evacuation orders were issued in Santa Cruz County for about 32,000 residents living near rapidly rising rivers and creeks, according to Melodye Serino, the deputy county administrative officer.

Parts of the community of Felton in the Santa Cruz Mountains were inundated when the San Lorenzo River crested over its banks Monday morning, leaving cars partially submerged.

School teacher Nicole Beardsley, who grew up and lives in Felton, told the San Francisco Chronicle she was heading for work when she came to a submerged car on a flooded section of road and turned around.

“I’ve never seen the river this high before,” Beardsley told the newspaper. “I’ve seen it come up to the bridge there and the road wasn’t drivable, but it wasn’t up this high.”

Some residents took a relaxed attitude to the turmoil.

Nicole Martin, a third-generation owner of the Fern River Resort in Felton, said her clients sipped coffee, sat on cabin porches amid towering redwood trees and were “enjoying the show” as picnic tables and other debris floated down the river.

Surging waters halt search for boy swept away into river

The life of a 5-year-old boy who was carried away by floodwaters hung in the balance Monday after rescuers in central California had to call off the search for him around 3 p.m. when conditions on the surging Salinas River became too dangerous to continue.

The boy’s mother was driving a white truck when it became stranded in floodwaters just before 8 a.m. near Paso Robles, according to Tom Swanson, assistant chief of the Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department.

Swanson said bystanders pulled the mother out of the truck but the boy was carried out of the vehicle by the water and swept downstream.

6 feet of snow forecast in Sierra

The Sierra Nevada will likely see heavy snow exceeding 6 feet across the higher elevations before the snow tapers off Wednesday morning, forecasters said. The state Department of Transportation warned motorists to stay off mountain roads after closing a stretch of U.S. 395 in Mono County, along the Eastern Sierra, because of heavy snow, ice and whiteout conditions.

Mammoth Mountain, an Eastern Sierra ski resort, already has received nearly 10 feet of snow, the National Weather Service reported.

Why could the latest storm be so damaging?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had sought the federal emergency designation earlier Sunday, said the death toll from almost two weeks of storms had reached 12. And he warned that the worst impacts of the storms might have been felt yet.

"California is in the middle of a deadly barrage of winter storms and we are using every resource at our disposal to protect lives and limit damage," Newsom said.

AccuWeather experts say the unrelenting "atmospheric rivers" have saturated much of the state and bloated rivers and streams, leaving the state susceptible to "extreme and historic levels" of storm damage.

A CLOSER LOOK:Graphics show how the coastal state has been drenched

HOW AN ATMOSPHERIC RIVER DEVELOPS:Graphics show atmospheric river soaking California's Bay Area

Atmospheric rivers are ribbons of water vapor in the sky that can extend thousands of miles from the tropics to the western U.S. At 250 to 375 miles wide, they provide the fuel for massive rain and snowstorms that can cause flooding along the West Coast.

On Sunday alone, one thunderstorm moving into the Sacramento region was producing up to a half-inch of rain per hour.

Sacramento County struggles to recover

In the state capital, tens of thousands of electricity customers remained without power Monday, down from more than 350,000 after gusts of 60 mph knocked trees into power lines, according to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Sacramento City schools were closed Monday because six campuses had no electricity.

The weather service posted a flood advisory for much of the Sacramento Valley, northern San Joaquin Valley and surrounding foothills. The Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services ordered residents of Wilton, about 20 miles southeast of downtown Sacramento, to evacuate Sunday night. Wilton is home to about 6,000 people.

"Flooding is imminent. Out of an abundance of caution, residents must leave now before roads become impassable," the office of emergency services said in its evacuation order.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Hurricane Ian photos: Devastating damage in Cuba, Florida, Carolinas

Hurricane Ian swept through the Atlantic and southeast U.S. coast this week, leaving a path of catastrophic damage in Cuba, Florida and the Carolinas.

Ian has left dozens dead, torn apart homes, caused life-threatening flooding and triggered widespread blackouts.

On Friday, President Joe Biden said that Hurricane Ian is "likely to rank among the worst in the nation’s history," and noted Florida will take "months – years – to rebuild."

Ian, now a post-tropical cyclone, headed north into North Carolina Saturday, with heavy rain expected for the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic. By Saturday night, the storm is set to weaken and dissipate over south-central Virginia – but severe weather conditions could continue until then.

Live updates:About 1.7 million remain without power in Ian's path; storm treks through North Carolina

Here are some photos of Ian's destruction in Cuba, Florida and the Carolinas.

Cuba

Hurricane Ian battered western Cuba early Tuesday as a Category 3 storm – triggering a collapse of the entire country's already-fragile power grid, life-threatening flooding and high winds that damaged houses and toppled trees. Three people died. The full extent of the storm's destruction is still unknown.

Crews worked to restore power to much of the island in the day following the storm's landfall. But there are still areas in the dark and/or without internet service, prompting hundreds to protest on Thursday and Friday.

'Apocalyptic' photos:Cuba plunged into darkness after Hurricane Ian triggers outage

Watch:Cubans assess the damage caused by Hurricane Ian amid flooding, power outages

Florida

On Wednesday, Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida, hitting the state's southwestern coast as one of the move powerful storm's in U.S. history. The Category 4 hurricane made landfall at 150 mph – just 7 mph below Category 5 status.

Ian slowed as it moved inland – but left immense destruction across the state. The storm caused flooding areas on both of Florida's coasts, tearing homes from their slabs, demolishing beachfront businesses and leaving 2 million without power. At least 27 people died, according to the Associated Press, and the death count is expected to rise.

As of Saturday, 1.2 million Floridians remained without power. Officials are assessing the damage and continuing search and rescue efforts.

'It's a nightmare, but we're alive':After Hurricane Ian, Fort Myers residents mourn low-lying neighborhoods

How to help:Here's how you can help those affected by Hurricane Ian in Florida

Carolinas, other East Coast states

Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm early Thursday but continued to wreak havoc and it moved north toward South Carolina, Georgia and more states on the East Coast.

The storm soon strengthened again. On Friday, Ian hammered the coast of South Carolina as it made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, and then moved into North Carolina as a post-tropical cyclone.

Friday:South Carolina braces for Hurricane Ian as it returns to land as a Category 1 storm

No deaths have been confirmed in these states yet, but the storm has caused flooding, destruction and power outages. As of Saturday, hundreds of thousands of customers were left without power across the Carolinas and into Virginia.

Contributing: Christine Fernando, John Bacon, Ashley R. Williams, USA TODAY. The Associated Press.

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Hurricane Ian continues to batter Florida as a Category 1 storm ...

Editor’s Note: Affected by the storm? Use CNN’s lite site for low bandwidth. You also can text or WhatsApp your Ian stories to CNN +1 332-261-0775. Find Thursday’s coverage here.

CNN —

Hurricane Ian continued to batter the Florida peninsula with a catastrophic trifecta of high winds, heavy rain and historic storm surge Wednesday night, even as it weakened to a Category 1 storm, the National Hurricane Center said.

Amid widespread flooding, property damage, power outages and water-rescue calls, and with the slow-moving hurricane inching inland hours after making landfall along Florida’s vulnerable western coastline, officials across the state continued to issue dire warnings to residents to stay inside.

The storm surge along the west coast of Florida has peaked and is beginning to recede as the storm moves inland, according to the hurricane center.

However, “water levels are quite high in those areas still and so it will take some time for the water to recede,” Cody Fritz, storm surge specialist at the National Hurricane Center, warned.

“There’s still plenty of onshore flow along the coast keeping water levels elevated, so while the peak surge values will decrease here relative to previous value, I still expect waters to be up for awhile and the need to maintain the storm surge warnings,” Fritz said.

FOLLOW THURSDAY LIVE UPDATES

In Collier County, authorities have been inundated with water rescue calls. The Sheriff’s Office said it’s in “call triage mode” and getting numerous calls of people trapped by water.

“At this point the majority of our 911 calls are water rescues,” Collier County Sheriff’s Office Chief Stephanie Spell told CNN in a phone call.

A broken section of road and destroyed houses are seen in Matlacha, Florida, on Saturday, October 1. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden talk to people impacted by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida, during a tour of the area on Wednesday, October 5. Evan Vucci/AP Greg Guidi, left, and Thomas Bostic unload supplies from a boat on Pine Island, Florida, on Tuesday, October 4. With the roads onto the island made impassable, people were getting supplies to the island by boat. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Members of a search-and-rescue team comb through the wreckage on Fort Myers Beach on Tuesday. Win McNamee/Getty Images Stephanie Fopiano, right, gets a hug from Kenya Taylor, both from North Port, as she gets emotional about her situation at the Venice High School hurricane shelter in Venice, Florida, on Monday, October 3. Mike Lang/USA Today Network Workers and residents clear debris from a destroyed bar in Fort Myers on Saturday, October 1. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images Beachgoers look at a large shrimping boat that was swept ashore in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday. Jonathan Drake/Reuters Local muralist Candy Miller, left, embraces Ana Kapel, the manager of the Pier Peddler, a gift shop that sold women's fashions, as she becomes emotional at the site where the store once stood on Fort Myers Beach on Friday. Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP Waters from a rain-swollen pond cover grass and a foot path around Quarterman Park in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday. Meg Kinnard/AP Members of the US Army National Guard help people evacuate from flood waters in North Port, Florida, on Friday, September 30. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Water streams past buildings on the oceanfront on Sanibel Island, Florida, on Friday. Steve Helber/AP University of Central Florida students use an inflatable mattress as they evacuate an apartment complex in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, September 30. Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentintel/AP A firefighter examines a fallen tree in Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday. Alex Brandon/AP A man tows a canoe through a flooded street of his neighborhood in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Friday. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images People wait in line to enter a Home Depot store in Cape Coral, Florida, on Friday. Many in Florida were still without power. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images The wreckage of a car teeters on a buckled roadway on Friday in Matlacha, Florida. Win McNamee/Getty Images Members of the Texas A&M Task Force 1 Search and Rescue team look for anyone needing help on Friday in Fort Myers, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images A man takes photos Thursday, September 29, of boats that were damaged by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images Bob Levitt returns to his condemned home to retrieve his cat, which he found hiding in a bedroom Thursday in Palm Beach County, Florida. A tornado spawned by the hurricane left residents homeless. Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network This aerial photo shows damaged homes and debris in Fort Myers Beach on Thursday. Wilfredo Lee/AP Jake Moses and Heather Jones explore a section of destroyed businesses in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Thursday. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/Zuma Workers in Naples, Florida, clean up debris on Thursday. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images A section of the Sanibel Causeway is seen on Thursday after it collapsed due to the effects of the storm. Steve Helber/AP Stedi Scuderi looks over her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images A resident of Orange County, Florida, and a couple of dogs are rescued from floodwaters on Thursday. From Orange County Government A boat lies partially submerged in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Thursday. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images Tom Park begins cleaning up in Punta Gorda on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images Residents of Port Charlotte, Florida, line up for free food that was being distributed from a taco truck on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images A causeway to Florida's Sanibel Island is seen on Thursday. The causeway is the only way to get to or from Sanibel and Captiva Islands to Florida's mainland. Wilfredo Lee/AP People clear a large tree off their home in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Homes are flooded in Port Charlotte on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images Jonathan Strong dives into floodwaters while he and his girlfriend, Kylie Dodd, knock on doors to help people in a flooded mobile home community in Iona, Florida, on Thursday. "I can't just sit around while my house is intact and let other people suffer," he said. "It's what we do: community helping community." Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP Brenda Brennan sits next to a boat that pushed up against her apartment building in Fort Myers on Thursday. She said the boat floated in around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images People walk along the beach looking at property damaged in Bonita Springs, Florida, on Thursday. Sean Rayford/Getty Images An Orlando resident is rescued from floodwaters on Thursday. John Raoux/AP Vehicles make their way through flooded streets in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Stefanie Karas stands in her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. She is an artist and was salvaging what she could from her home. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Heavily damaged homes are seen on Sanibel Island on Thursday. Wilfredo Lee/AP A spiral staircase lies next to a damaged pickup truck in Sanibel, Florida, on Thursday. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Presss A flooded street is seen in downtown Fort Myers after Ian made landfall on Wednesday, September 28. Marco Bello/Reuters A woman surveys damage through a door during a power outage in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Marco Bello/Reuters A satellite image shows the hurricane making landfall on the southwest coast of Florida on Wednesday. NOAA/NASA The streets of Naples, Florida, are flooded on Wednesday. City officials asked residents to shelter in place until further notice. Naples Police A woman is helped out of a muddy area Wednesday in Tampa, Florida, where water was receding due to a negative storm surge. Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Strong winds hit Punta Gorda on Wednesday. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images A woman holds an umbrella inverted by the wind in Tampa on Wednesday. Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Sailboats anchored in Roberts Bay are blown around in Venice, Florida, on Wednesday. Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS/Abaca/Reuters Melvin Phillips stands in the flooded basement of his mobile home in Stuart, Florida, on Wednesday. Crystal Vander Weit/TCPalm/USA Today Network A man walks where water was receding from Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images Damage is seen at the Kings Point condos in Delray Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian. Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network A TV crew broadcasts from the beach in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Marco Bello/Reuters Utility trucks are staged in a rural lot Wednesday in The Villages, a Florida retirement community. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/AP Highways in Tampa are empty Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Ian making landfall. Several coastal counties in western Florida were under mandatory evacuations. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters An airplane is overturned in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Wednesday. Wilfredo Lee/AP Zuram Rodriguez surveys the damage around her home in Davie, Florida, early on Wednesday. Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP People play dominoes by flashlight during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday. Crews in Cuba have been working to restore power for millions after the storm battered the western region with high winds and dangerous storm surge, causing an islandwide blackout. Ramon Espinosa/AP People walk through a flooded street in Batabano, Cuba, on Tuesday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images Southwest Airlines passengers check in near a sign that shows canceled flights at the Tampa International Airport on Tuesday. Chris O'Meara/AP Maria Llonch retrieves belongings from her home in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on Tuesday. Ramon Espinosa/AP Traffic builds along Interstate 4 in Tampa on Tuesday. Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP A man carries his children through rain and debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday. Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters People drive through debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday. Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters Frederic and Mary Herodet board up their Gulf Bistro restaurant in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on Tuesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images NASA's Artemis I rocket rolls back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday. The launch of the rocket was postponed due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Ian is seen from the International Space Station on Monday, September 26. NASA via AP Waves kick up along the shore of Batabano as Hurricane Ian reaches Cuba on Monday. Ramon Espinosa/AP A Cuban family transports personal belongings to a safe place in the Fanguito neighborhood of Havana on Monday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images A family carries a dog to a safe place in Batabano on Monday. Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images People wait in lines to fuel their vehicles at a Costco store in Orlando on Monday. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Ryan Copenhaver, manager of Siesta T's in Sarasota, Florida, installs hurricane panels over the store's windows on Monday. Mike Lang/USA Today Network A man helps pull small boats out of Cuba's Havana Bay on Monday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Imagaes Shelves are empty in a supermarket's water aisle in Kissimmee on Monday. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, Florida, references a map Monday that indicates where storm surges would impact the county. During a news conference, she urged anyone living in those areas to evacuate. Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire Sarah Peterson fills sandbags in Fort Myers Beach on September 24. Andrew West/USA Today Network In pictures: Hurricane Ian slams the Southeast Prev Next

Spell could not specify how many calls have come in at this time nor comment on injuries.

“Water is everywhere,” according to a Sheriff’s Office statement late Wednesday, which added that “our East Naples deputies did 30 rescue missions today. We are still collecting numbers from other areas. We are still rescuing people.”

“Some are reporting life threatening medical emergencies in deep water. We will get to them first. Some are reporting water coming into their house but not life threatening. They will have to wait. Possibly until the water recedes,” a post on the county’s Facebook page read.

To make matters worse, the Lee County’s 911 system is down and calls are be rerouted to Collier County Sheriff, according to the post. “You can’t imagine the calls,” the post read.

A mandatory curfew was put in place for all of Collier County beginning at 10 p.m. Wednesday and ending at 6 a.m. Thursday, the county government tweeted Wednesday.

Lee and Charlotte counties have also implemented curfews. Lee County’s began at 6 p.m. and is in place until further notice, while Charlotte County’s begins at 9 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m.

City of Naples Fire Rescue posted video of a water rescue in Naples, Florida. City of Naples Fire Rescue

In Punta Gorda, CNN’s Randi Kaye took shelter in a parking garage as she described how the streets were devoid of people and cars. Trees were either knocked down or standing and stripped bare. Debris could also be seen flying down the street and the only vehicle visible in the city had “STORMCHASER” written on the side.

The storm made landfall as a Category 4 near Cayo Costa around 3:05 p.m., with winds near 150 mph, according to the hurricane center. At this point, Hurricane Ian is tied for the strongest storm to make landfall on the west coast of the Florida peninsula, matching the wind speed of Hurricane Charley in 2004. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday Ian will rank as one of the top five hurricanes to ever hit the Florida peninsula, behind Hurricanes Andrew (1992) and Michael (2018).

Ian weakened to a Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday night as it moved across central Florida, churning sustained winds of 90 mph.

Nearly 2 million Florida utility customers were without power as of 6 p.m., according to PowerOutage.us. Officials in Cape Coral and Punta Gorda reported significant impacts, and the storm surge set records for the highest water levels ever observed in Fort Myers and Naples.

“The storm surge is very significant. We’re seeing cars and boats float down the street. We’re seeing trees nearly bent in half,” Frank Loni, an architect from California staying in Fort Myers Beach for the storm, said midday Wednesday. “There’s quite a bit of chaos on the streets.”

DeSantis said storm surge from Ian has hit up to 12 feet in some areas.”It is our meteorologist’s view that the storm surge has likely peaked and will be less in the coming hours,” he said.

Ian is expected to retain hurricane strength through the day and into tomorrow as the center of the storm moves northeast over the Florida Peninsula, passing close to Orlando and Daytona Beach, before moving back into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday afternoon. Hurricane warnings have been issued for not only southwest Florida, but also much of central Florida from coast to coast.

A number of other weather advisories have also been issued throughout Florida. A flash flood emergency impacting more than 300,000 people is in effect south central Sarasota county, southeast Manatee, northwest Desoto, Hardee, and northwest Highlands counties through 10:45 p.m..

An extreme wind warning is in effect for Sebrin, Avon Park and Arcadia until 9:30 p.m. for extremely dangerous hurricane winds as the storm passes.

‘The worst storm I have ever seen’

Water levels in Fort Myers rose more than 6 feet over the span of seven hours and were still rising as strong winds continue to push water from the Gulf of Mexico ashore, according to CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller.

“I’ve been here since the mid-70s, this is actually – by far – the worst storm I have ever seen,” Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

About 96% of Fort Myers is without electricity, Anderson told CNN’s Anderson Cooper late Wednesday. The mayor does not know how many people did not heed evacuation orders, but there are thousands currently in shelters.

Anderson also emphasized that it is still unsafe to be outside and that people should stay away from floodwaters.

“There’s no telling what’s in those waters, they are not safe. You know you could step on debris. You know, there’s runoff from sewers and just – it’s just not a good situation,” he said.

Jennifer Dexter, a spokesperson for the town of Fort Myers Beach, told CNN backup water pumps are down.

“When the backup water pump system goes down, that shows you how serious it is,” Dexter said. A boil water notice went into effect due to storm surge, loss of power and damage to the backup generators for the drinking water supply.

President Biden spoke with the mayor Wednesday, the White House said in a statement. The two leaders “discussed Fort Myers’ ongoing needs including support for the elderly members of the community, families that live in mobile homes and other community members who are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the storm,” according to a readout of the call provided by the White House.

The President also tried to reach the mayors of Cape Coral, Sarasota and the Chair of Charlotte County, Florida, but was unable to reach them and left messages instead, the White House said.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane Wednesday afternoon. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor urged residents Wednesday to shelter in place, saying the worst of the storm is “yet to come.”

“We are expecting that we’re going to get the majority of the rain and the higher winds starting about 8 p.m. and they’re going to last throughout the night,” she said. “We are still expecting widespread flooding throughout our city, and anywhere from tropical storm wind speeds to the possibly of category one hurricane wind speeds.”

Castor said that officials are expecting flooding sometime in the next 24 hours.

“We’re going to see the continued rain, the rain will increase dramatically and then that water is going to come back into the Bay as Hurricane Ian continues its northeasterly trajectory.”

Further south, The Olde Naples Seaport, a community of condos that overlooks the Naples Bay, was consumed by storm surge, according to video shot by Graham Pederson. Pederson experienced knee-high water trying to escape.

In another video shot from the second floor, wind is seen whipping trees and trucks nearly submerged by the water. Pederson retreated to the second floor to wait out the storm, his brother-in-law Kyle Wendel told CNN.

Video was taken from Estero Blvd in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. Frank Loni

DeSantis said Wednesday calls for help are coming into several counties due to the storm. The governor said emergency responders have received calls from people in evacuation zones that did not evacuate. Those calls are being logged, he said.

“Local first responders will deploy as soon as it’s safe to do so,” DeSantis said. “By and large until the storm passes, they are not going to go into a situation for rescue and put their own folks at risk.”

DeSantis requested Biden approve a major disaster declaration for all 67 counties in the state due to Hurricane Ian, his office said in a news release. DeSantis is also requesting that the President grant FEMA the authority to provide 100% federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures for the first 60 days from Ian’s landfall.

Ian already producing record water surge levels

Much of west-central Florida and places inland face “historic” storm surge, rain and crushing winds. “This is a wind storm and a surge storm and a flood storm, all in one,” CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.

Images and video have showed extensive flooding in coastal neighborhoods in Naples and Fort Myers Beach.

Storm surge began rising late Wednesday morning – more than 4.5 feet above normal highest tides was recorded before noon in Naples, already higher than the previous record there of 4.02 feet from Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for flood-prone areas on the coast, and the National Weather Service warned those who stayed behind to move to upper floors in case of rising water levels.

Ian’s dangers still include:

• Storm surge: Some 12 to 18 feet of seawater pushed onto land was predicted Wednesday for the coastal Fort Myers area, from Englewood to Bonita Beach, forecasters said. Only slightly less is forecast for a stretch from Bonita Beach down to near the Everglades (8 to 12 feet), and from near Bradenton to Englewood (6 to 10 feet), forecasters said.

Lower – but still life-threatening – surge is possible elsewhere, including north of Tampa and along Florida’s northeast coast near Jacksonville.

• Winds: Southwest Florida is facing “catastrophic wind damage” from ongoing hurricane-force winds. Winds near the core of Hurricane Ian could exceed 140 mph, with higher gusts, the hurricane center said. Multiple locations, including Sanibel Island, recorded wind gusts above 100 mph.

• Flooding rain: 12 to 30 inches of rain could fall in central and northeastern Florida – including Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. That makes for a top-of-scale risk for flooding rainfall across this area. This amount of rain would usually be two to three months’ worth, but is now falling in less than two days, according to CNN meteorologist Gene Norman.

“As this storm passes your community, understand this is still a hazardous situation” because of downed powerlines, misuse of generators and standing water, Gov. DeSantis said during a Wednesday evening news conference.

Where the hurricane is headed

Ian’s center is expected to move over central Florida through Thursday morning. Heavy rain and flooding also is possible in southern Florida, Georgia and coastal South Carolina. The governors of Virginia, North and South Carolina have already declared states of emergency in their respective states.

Storm warnings have expanded northward to North Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. update. A tropical storm warning has been extended to Surf City and a tropical storm watch has been issued from north of Surf City to Cape Lookout, North Carolina.

A storm surge watch has been issued north of South Santee River, South Carolina, to Little River Inlet.

Because Ian slowly approached land, the worst conditions could remain over some areas for eight or more hours.

“Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic flash, urban, and river flooding is expected” across central and southern Florida, the hurricane center said.

By late Thursday, Ian is due to emerge over the Atlantic Ocean, where it could strengthen again and affect another part of the US.

Prior to nearing Florida, Hurricane Ian pummeled Cuba on Tuesday, leaving at least two dead and an islandwide blackout. The US Coast Guard said it has rescued at least three people off the Florida coast, about 2 miles south of Boca Chica.

“They were brought to the local hospital for symptoms of exhaustion and dehydration. Air crews are still searching,” the Coast Guard said in a tweet.

According to US Border Patrol Chief for the Miami Sector, the agency has been searching for more than 20 migrants after the arrival of Cubans who swam to shore after their boat sank due to Ian.

After the devastation in Cuba, more than 2.5 million people in Florida were advised to flee, including 1.75 million under mandatory evacuation orders – no small ask in a state with a large elderly population.

Officials prepare for post-storm rescue

Sarasota County Sheriff Deputies block the access to a downtown bridge over to the barrier islands as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida's Gulf Coast on September 28. Steve Nesius/Reuters

Law enforcement officials around the state warned that people who stayed behind in evacuation areas cannot expect rescuers to respond to calls for help during the storm when winds are high.

“If you call for help, once we pull (officers) off the road … we’re not coming. … We’re not putting people in peril when (others) didn’t heed the mandatory evacuation order,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Wednesday.

Not everyone moved. Chelsye Napier, of Fort Myers, stayed home with her fiance and cats despite being in an evacuation zone, she told CNN Wednesday. They waited “because we don’t know anyone down here,” and ultimately decided to stay put, she said.

Ian's winds could be catastrophic Category 4: 130-156 mph • Most of the area is uninhabitable for weeks or months. • Power outages last weeks to months. • Fallen trees and power poles isolate residential areas. + Well-built framed homes sustain severe damage. Category 5: 157+ mph + A high percentage of framed homes are destroyed. Source: National Hurricane Center

“If anything happens, we have everything that we need here. We’ve got food, we got water. We have everything that we need here,” she said. “So it’s all OK for right now. We’ll see, though, later on.”

As millions were told evacuate, 176 shelters opened statewide and hotels and Airbnbs opened to people leaving evacuation zones, DeSantis said.

Local governments and state agencies also prepared those living in nursing homes and other senior care facilities to evacuate. Florida has around 6 million residents over the age of 60, according to the state’s Department of Elder Affairs – nearly 30% of its total population.

Heather Danenhower, with Duke Energy, walks around utility trucks that are staged in a rural lot in The Villages of Sumter County on Wednesday. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP

Authorities also readied services to fan out and respond to calls for rescue and then, in the aftermath of the hurricane, for recovery and repair efforts.

Nearly 400 ambulances, buses and support vehicles were responding to areas where the hurricane was expected to make landfall, according to the governor’s office.

DeSantis activated 5,000 Florida National Guard members for Ian’s response operations, and 2,000 more guardsmen from Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina were being activated to assist.

Florida urban search and rescue teams also were prepping.

“We have five state teams that are activated with additional five FEMA teams that are in play,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said at a news conference Tuesday night. “We have over 600 resources to bear in addition to these out-of-town teams.”

Help is coming from out of state, too. At least 26 states have answered the call for assistance by Florida, DeSantis said Wednesday evening, including Alabama and Louisiana.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards tweeted Wedensday his state has already sent “significant resources” to Florida.

“We are also prepared to send additional help once damage assessment begins,” Edwards’ tweet read.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey tweeted her state sent Blackhawk helicopters to help. Tennessee and Louisiana also sent resources to aid in search and rescue.

“If they need it and we’ve got it, then we’re going to send it,” Ivey tweeted.

Amir Vera Eric Levenson Jason Hanna Nouran Salahieh

Major storm to bring feet of snow, heavy rain and possible tornadoes ...

CNN —

An atmospheric river event, bringing ample amounts of moisture to the West this weekend, will gradually move across the country and bring hazardous weather to millions.

The blockbuster storm will begin in the West with heavy snow, gusty winds, and coastal flooding, then move eastward, threatening potential blizzard conditions in the Midwest and tornadoes in the South.

Winter weather alerts are in place for more than 10 million people across nearly a dozen states from California to Minnesota Sunday.

Snow could top out at 1 to 2 feet in the Rockies, and 3 to 5 feet in the Sierras by the end of the weekend. Heavy rain will also be notable in the West, particularly in California, where flooding concerns exist through Sunday.

An atmospheric river is a plume of moisture which streams in off the Pacific Ocean. Similar to a fire hose, it shoots moisture into one area for an extended period of time, resulting in very heavy rain or snow.

Most coastal communities will pick up 1 to 3 inches of rain through the weekend, and some areas of northern and central California could receive 3 to 5 inches of rain in total. Coastal erosion and flooded roadways will be the main concerns.

“Additional heavy rains may result in isolated runoff issues, especially across recent burn scars,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

Wind advisories and high wind warnings are also in places across several western states as gusts of 45 to 55 mph are possible.

This same storm system is forecast to track into the Rockies by Monday morning, bringing with it heavy mountain snow, before heading into the eastern half of the country.

“As the system moves into the Plains early next week, a springlike storm system develops,” Chad Myers, CNN Meteorologist said. “Significant severe weather will occur in the warm air across the South and a major snow and ice event will happen in the western Great Lakes and northern Plains.”

Potential blizzard conditions for the Plains and Midwest

For the northern Plains and Midwest, the threat for blizzard conditions is increasing, as significant snow, strong winds, ice and freezing rain will all be possible early next week from Colorado through Wisconsin.

CNN Weather

“A winter storm is expected to impact the Northern Plains Monday night through Thursday,” the National Weather Service office in Bismarck, North Dakota said. “Difficult travel conditions are expected Monday night through Wednesday night from heavy snow, reduced visibility, and drifting snow.”

Heavy snow and strong winds will be the main concerns, but freezing rain and ice are also possible.

If winds are at least 35 mph and visibility is less than one quarter of a mile for at least three hours, it could result in a full-blown blizzard across the region.

Widespread snow accumulations across the northern Plains and Midwest will be 4 to 8 inches, and some locations could pick up in excess of one foot through Friday of next week.

“While some uncertainty persists, confidence is increasing that strong winds and significant snows will produce hazardous impacts across much of the Central/Northern Plains and into the Upper Midwest,” the prediction center said.

Slick roadways and near-whiteout conditions will make travel very difficult if not impossible at times for some of these areas. Power outages will also be possible due to very strong winds.

Severe storms for the South next week

The threat for severe storms is also increasing across the southern Plains and Gulf Coast region including tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds.

“While tornadoes in December are relatively uncommon when compared to the springtime, they are often more likely across portions of the Southeast and Lower Mississippi Valley, where there is often a secondary peak in the fall and winter,” Matthew Elliott, a meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center, told CNN.

CNN Weather

The severe storm potential begins Monday night across Oklahoma and northern Texas, gradually spreading into Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi on Tuesday.

Severe storms will likely continue Tuesday overnight across the Gulf Coast region. Nocturnal tornadoes are more dangerous because many people are asleep and unaware they need to be seeking a safe location.

While the greater tornado threat exists during the day, there is still the possibility for a few rotating storms through the evening hours.

By Wednesday, the greatest threat exists for an area from New Orleans to Panama City, Florida.

“The details regarding the areas most at risk from tornadoes will become clearer as the event approaches and smaller-scale trends become more evident,” Elliott said.

Because the forecast can change it is important to pay attention to developments in the coming days.