People walk in the rain as they get off the ferry after traveling from Manhattan to Brooklyn in New York, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. Millions of people from the mid-Atlantic through New England were being advised to hunker down as a nor'easter moves up the coast. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
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NEW YORK (AP) - From California to the Deep South to the Northeast, millions of Americans were contending with death and destruction from damaging January weather. Flooding, high winds and suspected tornadoes have rousted people from their homes. A deadly storm system tore across the Deep South, a nor'easter lashed the East Coast and rainfall records fell in California.
Some more details on the wild weather:
DEEP SOUTH DEVASTATION
A powerful storm system that tore across the Deep South over the weekend killed 20 people, including 15 in south Georgia. Rescuers were going through stricken areas Monday, searching for possible survivors.
Patrick Marsh of the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said 39 possible tornadoes were reported across the Southeast from early Saturday into Sunday evening.
Marsh said while the risk of tornadoes is strongest in the spring in the central U.S., it "never really goes to zero" for most of the year in the Southeast.
Data from the Storm Prediction Center shows that, over the past decade, the nation has seen an average of 38 tornadoes in January, ranging from a high of 84 in 2008 to just four in 2014.
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NOR'EASTER
Millions of people from the mid-Atlantic through New England were being advised to hunker down as a nor'easter moved up the coast.
High wind warnings and advisories were in effect throughout the region. Some wind gusts were expected to approach 60 mph, while offshore winds could reach hurricane levels of 74 mph or higher.
Train service was interrupted by downed power lines. Amtrak suspended service for Northeast Regional and Acela Express trains traveling in New Jersey, and NJ Transit halted service between Trenton and New York City. Other railroads also were also contending with downed trees and utility poles on tracks.
Flooding and beach erosion was expected Monday and Tuesday. Downed power lines were also expected.
In Philadelphia, police say a man was killed when he was struck at a car lot by a sign knocked off a wall, and panels from a multistory mural blew off another wall and hit two parked cars.
In New Jersey, strong winds blew part of the roof off an oceanfront condo building in Long Branch. Debris fell onto several parked cars below.
In upstate New York and into northern New England, forecasts were calling for possibly as much as six inches of snow and sleet.
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WILD AND WET WEST
California finally got a break Monday from a three-day winter storm that broke rainfall records, washed out roads and churned up tremendous waves. Sunshine and rainbows alternated with thunderclaps, downpours, snow and hail as the last of the storm system broke up.
Authorities reported at least four people dead and several missing. Hail was reported northwest of Los Angeles, nearly 4 inches of rain fell south of the city and wind gusts topped 60 mph in some areas.
Further north, an avalanche shut down a highway in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and nearly 3 feet of snow fell on ski resorts. Avalanche warnings were issued for northern Utah. Forecasters predicted up to a foot of snow and winds gusting to near 50 mph.
The wet winter weather follows years of drought.
People stop to take a photo of a gas station damaged by an apparent tornado, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, in Albany, Ga. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in several counties, including Cook, that have suffered deaths, injuries and severe damage from weekend storms. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)
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A rescue worker enters a hole in the back of a mobile home Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, in Big Pine Estates that was damaged by a tornado, in Albany, Ga. Fire and rescue crews were searching through the debris, looking for people who might have become trapped when the deadly storm came through. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)
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Isabella Busse , 6, walks through floodwater near the Seal Beach Pier during a storm in Seal Beach, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. The heavy downpour on Sunday drenched Orange County in one of the heaviest storms of the year. Fast-moving floodwaters swept through California mountain communities and residents fled homes below hillsides scarred by wildfires as the third in the latest series of storms brought a deluge Sunday and warnings about damaging mudslides. (Ana Venegas/The Orange County Register via AP)
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In this Saturday, Jan 21, 2017, photo, waves crash into the historic WW1-era ship called S.S. Palo Alto at Rio Del Mar in Aptos, Calif., after it was torn apart during a storm. The National Weather Service cautioned that the system was expected to gain strength into the evening Sunday and could be the strongest storm in at least seven years.. (Kevin Johnson/The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP)
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Strong northeast winds drive waves onto the seawall along Hereford Inlet in the Anglesea section of North Wildwood, N.J., Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. Winds with wind gusts of up to 50mph hit Southern New Jersey with coastal flooding expected during high tides. (Dale Gerhard/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)
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A downed tree barely missed two parked cars in the parking lot of Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House, New Jersey, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. A storm with wind gusts of up to 50mph hit Southern New Jersey Monday, and coastal flooding is expected during high tides. (Dale Gerhard/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)
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Greg and Megan Bissey of Wildwood, N.J., stop to look at the rough surf on 2nd Avenue and the beach in North Wildwood, New Jersey, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. A storm with wind gusts of up to 50mph hit Southern New Jersey and coastal flooding is expected during high tides. (Dale Gerhard/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)
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Jose Luis Diaz checks damages to his boat after severe weather passed through the area in the early morning hours, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, in Miami Springs, Fla. The fatal storm system that caused destruction across the Southeast also downed trees and power lines around Florida. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
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Water gathers along beach front property in Seal Beach, Calif. on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. The tail end of a punishing winter storm system lashed California with thunderstorms and severe winds Monday after breaking rainfall records, washing out roads and whipping up enormous waves. (AP Photo/Amy Taxin)
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A vehicle crosses a closed off flooded section of Rock Springs Road in Hesperia, Calif., on Monday, Jan., 23, 2017. The tail end of a punishing winter storm system lashed California with thunderstorms and severe winds Monday after breaking rainfall records, washing out roads and whipping up enormous waves. (David Pardo/The Daily Press via AP)
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Aretha Allen, who lost her niece and her niece's brother in a tornado that hit Sunshine Acres mobile home park in Adel, Ga., on Sunday, reacts Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 during an interview outside First Baptist Church Adel. Residents in Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina are trying to pick up the pieces left behind by a powerful storm system that tore across the Deep South over the weekend many people. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)
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A man walks along Bernal Heights Hill in San Francisco, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. The tail end of a punishing winter storm system lashed California with thunderstorms and severe winds Monday after breaking rainfall records, washing out roads and whipping up enormous waves. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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A woman pushes a baby stroller as she walks against heavy wind in the rain in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. Millions of people from the mid-Atlantic through New England were being advised to hunker down as a nor'easter moves up the coast. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
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People walk against heavy wind in downtown New York, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. Millions of people from the mid-Atlantic through New England were being advised to hunker down as a nor'easter moves up the coast. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
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A woman walks against heavy wind in downtown New York, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. Millions of people from the mid-Atlantic through New England were being advised to hunker down as a nor'easter moves up the coast. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
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Strong winds drive sand on the beach at 21st Avenue in Longport N.J., Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. A nor'easter hit the coast bringing strong winds and rain for Monday. (Ben Fogletto/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)
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People run agains wind and rain to enter Caesars Boardwalk entrance in Atlantic City, N.J., Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. A nor'easter hit the coast bringing strong winds and rain for Monday. (Ben Fogletto/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)
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