The US Is Getting Pummeled on Both Coasts

The start of a winter storm with heavy, wet snow caused a plane to slide off the runway and led to hundreds of school closings, canceled flights, and thousands of power outages in parts of the Northeast on Tuesday. California wasn't faring much better, bracing for its 10th atmospheric river of the winter season. The Northeast storm's path included parts of New England, upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, and northern New Jersey, reports the AP. Snow totals by the time it winds up Wednesday were expected to range from a few inches to a few feet, depending on the area. "This is shaping up to be a unique winter storm for our small state in that there will be big differences in snowfall amounts depending on where you are located,” said Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who ordered all executive branch buildings closed. A look around:

The West Coast:

• Crews in California rushed to repair two levee breaks on a storm-swollen river in the central coast as yet another atmospheric river arrived with the potential to wallop swamped farmland and agricultural communities, per the AP. One telling quote from Pajaro, alongside its namesake river: "For this year, probably no strawberries, no blackberries, no blueberries."
• Initial precipitation was light as the system spread across northern and central regions. But the National Weather Service said it was intensifying, and the heaviest rainfall was still offshore.
• Along the Southern California coast, evacuation orders took effect at 8am Tuesday in Santa Barbara County for several areas that were burned by wildfires in recent years. Burned soil can be water-repellent, increasing the risk of flash floods and flows of debris such as downed trees.

The East Coast:

• A Delta Air Lines plane veered off the runway as it tried to take off from an airport in Syracuse, New York, Tuesday morning. It slid into a grassy area, forcing 61 passengers off the plane and back to the terminal.
• More than 400 flights traveling to, from, or within the US were canceled Tuesday, with Boston and New York City area airports seeing the highest number of scrubbed flights, according to FlightAware.
• The National Weather Service said that in New York, 2 inches of snow per hour or more was falling in higher elevations, in the eastern Catskills through the mid-Hudson Valley, central Taconics, and Berkshires. About 20 inches have piled up in areas, with more to come.
• Wet, heavy snow snapped tree branches and downed power lines across New York’s capital region with power outages hitting homes and businesses in the Albany area. The snowfall totals will be among the highest of the season, said meteorologist Andrew Orrison of the weather service office in College Park, Maryland.

(More winter storms stories.)