At least 11 killed by storms in the eastern part of the country

The strong snowstorms that lashed the northeastern part of the nation this weekend left ice and flash flooding in the Virginias, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, up through the New England region and even parts of Canada. This Monday, snowfall will lose intensity in the north but the cold weather will continue, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Kentucky accounted for nine of the at least ten deaths counted so far. Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed the "weather-related" deaths, including a mother and her seven-year-old daughter. Most died due to their cars getting stuck as water levels rose, for which Beshear warned, "So folks, stay off the roads right now and stay alive." "This is the search and rescue phase."

Authorities in Atlanta, Georgia, confirmed on Saturday the death of a man after a tree fell on a home. High winds and possible tornadoes were spotted in Alabama and Tennessee, destroying homes and businesses.

Millions of people were without power on Sunday. Outages persisted early Monday morning, with Pennsylvania the hardest hit state with more than 76,000 customers without power. According to records from the specialized site PowerOutage.us, in both Maryland and Virginia more than 60,000 homes remained without power, while in New Jersey the figure was down to 37,000 and in West Virginia to 30,700.

A dam break on the Obion River, a tributary of the Mississippi, flooded streets in and around the city of Rives, Tennessee. "GET TO HIGH GROUND NOW!" they urged from the local NWS. "This is a LIFE THREATENING situation." Welding fabricator and amateur drone pilot Jacob Fulbright described the flooding in the area as "devastating." The images recorded with his equipment quickly went viral, and served as encouragement for donations to help neighbors:

The snows also produced skids and crashes on the roads. In Michigan alone, police reported 114 preventable crashes since the snows began Saturday. "A majority of them were caused by drivers just going too fast or following too close," they maintained, noting that, fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

"Weather doesn’t cause crashes, drivers do!" they warned, after which they advised, "Buckle Up, Phones Down, Move Over, Drive Safe and Be Kind."

Colder during the week

The start of the week will come with more winter storm. The NWS anticipated "a swath of both heavy and disruptive snowfall" from the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic, plus "a bitterly cold air-mass" from the Great Plains to the Northeast.

Beginning Tuesday, the central part of the country could experience some of the coldest temperatures on record for this time of year. That arctic air mass could descend as far as the Gulf Coast. The NWS expects it to be over by Friday.

"Sub-zero wind chills will likely extend as far south as Texas, Arkansas, and western Tennessee and Kentucky," they warned. In the north-central part of the country, "extreme conditions" could "cause frostbite within minutes."