A severe storm hit a part of the United States yesterday, Tuesday, causing tornadoes in the south and killing three people there, according to local authorities.

Strong winds and snowstorms are also affecting the northern part of the country and electricity has been cut off in hundreds of thousands of households.

heavy rains causing flooding, strong winds with gusts possibly exceeding 50 mph (80 km/h) and thunderstorms are hitting the east coast of the United States, according to the US National Weather Service (NWS).

“Don’t underestimate it,” warned New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in an interview with local media, calling this storm “unusual.”

Worsening weather conditions caused Air Force 2, Vice President Kamala Harris’ plane, to divert to Dulles International Airport in the state of Virginia, instead of landing at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Tornadoes lashed parts of the Southeast, particularly Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSandis declared a state of emergency in 49 counties. Drone footage shows uprooted trees and buildings with their roofs ripped off.

At least three people have died as a result of the storm in the southern United States, according to local

In North Carolina, one person was killed at a mobile home park, several of which were damaged, Catawba County officials said. In Georgia, another person was killed when a tree fell on a vehicle, according to Clayton County police. In Alabama, an eighty-year-old woman died when a tornado tore through her mobile home, according to Houston County authorities.

More than 890,000 households without electricity

More than 890,000 households were without power Tuesday night, mostly in the eastern US, according to the website Poweroutage.us.

This winter storm also brought significant snowfall to the central and northern parts of the country (2 to 5 centimeters per hour), which is gradually reaching the Great Lakes region, according to the weather service.

In the northwestern United States, blizzard warnings were also issued for the first time in a decade in the Cascade and Olympic ranges, according to the New York Times.

Blizzards are expected to continue today in those areas and lead to snow accumulations of “several” inches there, according to the NWS.

New York City is also bracing for heavy rain accompanied by strong winds from Tuesday night into this morning (local time).

“According to updated National Weather forecasts, widespread power outages are now expected,” local authorities wrote in a statement, noting the risk of coastal flooding and sea level rise.

The bad weather has already been felt in air traffic, as more than 1,300 flights were canceled and 8,600 were delayed across the United States yesterday, Tuesday, according to FlightAware.com.

In the US and the rest of the world, climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of storms, which are now difficult to predict.