Winter Storm 'Lola' Hammers Much of US with Blizzards, Tornadoes

A massive winter storm named Lola swept across much of the US on Wednesday. It spawned blizzards, flooding, and tornadoes. It also raised the threat of wildfires in parched places that didn’t see rain. Three people were killed from the effects of the storm in Mississippi Tuesday.

Over 400,000 people from Texas to North Carolina lost power during the storms. Plus, thousands of flights were either called off or delayed. 

“These storm systems not only have a warm side with severe thunderstorms, but a cold side that can have all forms of winter weather,” Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center told The Associated Press. “And looking at the forecast maps, this is not the last storm that we’ll see in March.” Bunting's a deputy director at NWS.

Lola caused blizzards in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. It also triggered severe storms with tornado threats from Texas to the Carolinas. Meanwhile, firefighters were placed on alert across Texas and New Mexico. There, winds reached speeds of 60 miles per hour (mph).   

The storm gave birth to a twister carrying 110 mph winds on Tuesday in Dallas, Texas. The twister and its storms ripped part of the roof off a school, forced parked planes at a local airport to crash into each other, and displaced hundreds of people. Three people died when severe thunderstorms ripped through Mississippi. A Madison County man died from contact with a downed power line. A driver on the Natchez Trace Parkway was killed by a falling tree. A Clarke County woman died from a falling tree limb.

Residents of eastern Virginia and the Carolinas on Wednesday hoped the storms would quell a recent outbreak of wildfires. But forecasters warned that heavy rains could trigger flooding.   

Reflect: What do you think would be the hardest part about dealing with a big storm, and how do you think you would prepare for one?

Photo of dark clouds from Unsplash courtesy of Raychel Sanner.