Winter storm warning: Arctic blast and winter storms leave 27 dead with more snow set to blanket northeast

Three people have died after a power line fell onto a car in Northeast Portland on Wednesday morning following a severe storm in Oregon.

Firefighters were called to reports of a “person on fire” just before 11:45 am on Wednesday, officials said, where they found three people and a small child lying in the street.

The four people were found around 35 feet from an SUV which had a powerline draped over it that had been pinned down by a large tree branch, fire officials added.

Officials said two adults and one teenager were found dead at the scene, while a two-year-old was taken to the hospital without injuries.

Fire department officials added that callers reported that someone grabbed the small child off of one of the adults on the ground before a nearby resident came outside with the child when fire crews arrived.

Two tornadoes touched down in southeast Florida on Monday, local outlet WPBF reports.

While only minor damages have been reported, according to WPBF, the tornadoes came after several tornadoes touched down throughout the state last week during Storm Finn, causing widespread damage to the Florida panhandle.

One of Monday’s tornadoes touched down in Stuart, Florida near a major roadway, according to footage captured by a driver, per WeatherNation.

In a rare event, ground temperatures in the interior of North America were similar to cloud top temperatures, according to Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University.

That rarity came amid a blast of arctic air in the Pacific Northwest and midwest earlier this week.

The two-masted sailing schooner named “Tay” ran aground on Mount Desert Island in July 1911 when it struck a ledge during a storm, resulting in the death of the ship’s cook, according to an article in the Bar Harbor Record at the time.

The Tay quickly broke into pieces and a large portion of the ship’s cargo was washed ashore by the waves as its Captain I.W. Scott tried unsuccessfully to make it to harbor. But last week, following storms across the country, part of the shipwreck was brought to the surface, washing up on Mount Desert Island’s Sand Beach after being buried for decades.

Martha McHardy has more on the fascinating sight:

Parts of New York — including New York City — and Connecticut could see up to 5 inches of snow Friday, per the National Weather Service (NWS).

1-3 inches of snow are likely, while 4-5 inches is the reasonable worst-case scenario, according to NWS officials.

Meanwhile, another arctic blast will hit the region over the weekend, bringing possible sub-zero wind chill temperatures. Under those conditions, the NWS warns frostbite could occur within just 30 minutes.

Stunning satellite footage from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University shows lake effect clouds forming over Lake Michigan on Tuesday.

Lake-effect snow falls when cold air from Canada moves across the Great Lakes, forming clouds that can produce two to three inches of snow per hour. Yesterday’s clouds, pictured in the satellite footage, blew over parts of Michigan and western New York, bringing several inches of snow to the region.

Wednesday brought a brief reprieve from arctic temperatures before meteorologists predict their return on Thursday.

The National Weather Service has warned that the Northern and Central Plains could experience below-average temperatures from Thursday as the Arctic Blast moves southwards. The cold front will then move into the Southern US on Friday, the weather service added.

It will follow a warmer day in southern Texas and along the Gulf Coast today where temperatures will return to the 60s and 70s by Thursday.

“Although this surge of Arctic air does not look quite as extreme as the first, bitterly cold temperatures are still possible portions the Central Plains this weekend,” the NWS said.

Winter Storm Indigo, which just hit the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, will now track snow and ice across the US, The Weather Channel reports.

As it moves, the storm could produce snowfall in the midwest and northeast beginning Thursday. The south may see snow and freezing rain as well, The Weather Channel forecasts.

East coast residents from Washington, DC to New York can also expect a few more inches of snow once Indigo reaches them on Thursday evening into Friday.

An arctic storm hit Portland, Oregon earlier this week, putting the city underneath a quarter-inch of ice. More than 60,000 people in the state are without power as of Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us, and at least eight people have died under weather-related circumstances in the state.