Rain, ice, record snowfall blanket northern U.S.

April 16 (UPI) — Historic snowfall in Minnesota is the western edge of a weather disturbance forecasters say will produce snow, rain and ice across the northern United States.

Snow tapered off late Sunday in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, bringing 2 to 5 inches on top of 12 to 16 inches that fell Friday and Saturday.

Although it’s April, the storm is regarded as one of the heaviest snowfalls in the cities’ histories. Meteorologists said it is moving westward, with Wisconsin expected to see 5 to 9 more inches of snow Monday.

Green Bay, Wis., received 23 inches of snow over the weekend, a record for April.

Forecasters say as the system moves eastward, a rainy cold front of low pressure is moving north up the Appalachian Mountains and soaking the Ohio Valley, Pennsylvania and New York state. Snow and rain are expected in New England throughout Monday.

Upstate New York, including Buffalo, received a coating of up to an inch of ice and nearly an inch of sleet, which counts as snow in snowfall totals.

The northward-moving rainstorm is expected to bring nearly two inches before it leaves the area on Tuesday.

In North Carolina, heavy rain and winds caused power outages for 31,000 customers. Two tornadoes were reported, and one person was reported killed. A flash flood warning is in effect on Monday in the Washington, D.C., area, where Interstate highways are closed because of flooding. A Radisson hotel in Rockville, Md., evacuated hundreds of guests after two feet of water flooded a basement electrical room.

A flash flood warning was also issued in Philadelphia. The heavy rain Sunday and Monday led to a flood advisory on the Delaware River, flight cancellations and several motor vehicle accidents

The Northeast is not the only part of the country with weather issues. A flash flood following heavy rainfall on Hawaii’s Kauai island stranded 40 people at a Red Cross shelter in an elementary school surrounded by rising water.

Food was delivered to those stranded after an evacuation effort was cancelled because of the rain, officials said.

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