New Mexico, California, Arizona, Nevada and parts of Texas all experienced storms, some flooding and cold temperatures over the last few days. The severe weather system is now expected to head eastwards where further cold temperatures will bring snow, accompanied by strong winds. The bad weather is expected to play havoc with the Thanksgiving travel plans of millions of Americans.
Hundreds of accidents, mostly road traffic accidents, resulted from the unusual weather, causing at least 8 deaths.
Many of the states suffered from strong winds and snow, but southern California and Arizona were hit by flooding. It is understood that the floods were responsible for the death of one man in Arizona after he was swept away by the flood waters of the Santa Cruz River in the southern part of the state on Friday 22 November. The normally desert dry roads of Arizona were strewn with road accidents after torrential rain flooded roads and highways, including the Loop 303 freeway in western Phoenix which was closed for some time. In the Phoenix area a flood warning was put into effect from Friday to Saturday.
In California, levels of the Santa Ana river in Colton, San Bernardino County were so high, four people were trapped on an island in the river and had to be rescued by helicopter.
Source: SB Sun
