The US faces a difficult week

(CNN) — The mix of wind, snow and rain that hit the central and eastern United States on Friday will continue Saturday with heavy rain — creating potentially dangerous coastal flooding — in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, blizzard conditions in the Midwest and the Great Lakes, including the Snow Buffalo area. Meanwhile, in the wake of this storm, a brutal blast of arctic air will sweep across the center of the country.

Flooding on the East Coast may occur: Millions of people from North Carolina to Maine are under flood watches or coastal flood warnings this Saturday, when rain is expected to hit the East Coast, with some areas still trying to recover from the torrential rains and storms that hit the region earlier this week.

Water levels along Maine’s coast are expected to reach record highs on Saturday, flooding coastal communities already affected by Wednesday’s record storm surge.

Water levels in Bar Harbor reached 15 feet Wednesday morning and are forecast to exceed 15 feet by midday Saturday.

In Portland, water is expected to top 14 feet by Saturday morning, slightly higher than Wednesday’s level, which broke the previous record set in 1978, the National Weather Service said.

The water is driven from the Atlantic Ocean by strong winds blowing towards the coast above high tide. Heavy rainfall inland only exacerbates flooding.

The water could cause significant erosion and splashing on beaches, the weather service said. “Expect to see water in areas that have never flooded before,” said the service’s office in Gray, Maine.

Coastal flooding can inundate vehicles in the Northeast: Flood warnings extend along the northeastern coast. While New York City will remain under a coastal flood warning until midday Saturday, parts of Suffolk and Nassau counties may see more severe coastal flooding up to 1 meter above ground level in some places.

“This will result in many road closures and flooding of low-lying properties, such as parking lots, parks, gardens and first floors and basements of coastal homes and businesses,” the National Weather Service office in New York said. .

“Vehicles parked in vulnerable areas near the coast are likely to be flooded or submerged. Flooding from typical flood-prone areas along rivers and creeks is also likely to spread inland, causing flooding in some areas.” Areas that do not normally flood. “

Philadelphia is under a coastal flood warning for most of Saturday, and Boston is expected to remain under a coastal flood warning Saturday morning through afternoon.

Millions of people were still under winter weather warnings Saturday — warnings stretching from California to Maine.

Snow in Buffalo: In Erie County, New York, which includes Buffalo, officials have declared a state of emergency since Saturday because of the approaching storm and lake-effect snow, County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo reported between 30 cm and 1 meter of snow and gusty winds in the Buffalo area between Saturday and Monday morning.

‘Life-threatening’ snow conditions: Much of the state of Iowa remains under a blizzard warning through Saturday night, when 15 to 25 centimeters of snow had previously fallen with winds of more than 65 km/h. Des Moines has had its snowiest week since 1942 thanks to back-to-back storms hitting the Midwest.

The Iowa State Patrol responded to 355 motorist assistance calls and 34 accidents as of Friday afternoon as winter conditions hit the state, the agency said in a social media post.

The state Department of Transportation and Des Moines police urged travelers to stay off the roads amid “dangerous whiteout conditions, drifting snow and slippery roads.”

In addition to dangerous travel conditions, blowing snow was expected to significantly reduce visibility, the National Weather Service in Des Moines warned. “Very little wind chill… can cause frostbite on exposed skin in 30 minutes and can be fatal if you’re trapped outside.”

More than 350,000 homes and businesses in the dark: High winds, severe storms and heavy snowfall lashed several states and caused widespread power outages from the Great Lakes to the south of the country early Saturday morning. As of 1:30 a.m. Miami time, Michigan had the most utility customers without power — more than 150,000 — followed by Wisconsin with more than 100,000 customers outages.

Hundreds of minimum temperature records could be broken: More than 240 daily low temperature records could be tied or broken across the US by Tuesday.

Wind chills could reach -56 degrees Celsius in parts of Montana this weekend. On Tuesday, the high temperature in Memphis, Tennessee could only reach -8 degrees Celsius, which would be a new record.

Over the next week, more than 55 million people will endure freezing temperatures.

Canceled flights: More than 2,000 flights from or within the US were canceled on Friday, the most since June 2023, according to FlightAware.com. The majority of cancellations are coming from Chicago, with 40% of outbound flights canceled at O’Hare and 60% at Midway.

Eric Zerkel, Taylor Ward, Mary Gilbert, Holly Yan, Robert Shackelford, Dave Alsup, Joe Sutton and Sara Smart contributed to this report.