Weather

2023 Off To Wild Weather Start: See The Photos

Winter is making its mark this year as damaging winds and flash flooding hit California, snowfall pounds Minnesota and tornados hit Chicago.

David Allen, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
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Miles Gomez, 9, plays with his twin brother, Edison, after a series of storms blasted communities surrounding in South Lake Tahoe, California on Wednesday.
Miles Gomez, 9, plays with his twin brother, Edison, after a series of storms blasted communities surrounding in South Lake Tahoe, California on Wednesday. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP))

ACROSS AMERICA — The year 2023 isn't silently slipping in. A brutal winter storm system is pounding California, burying some Midwestern states in snow and threatening tornadoes in other parts of the country.

California officials have already ordered evacuations in high-risk coastal areas where mudslides took the lives of 23 people in 2018, as similar high-speed winds are expected to take hold. Flash flood warnings have been issued in the San Francisco Bay area, and Santa Barbara and Ventura counties braced for more rain Thursday.

Meanwhile, schools in Minnesota were forced to close as ice and heavy snowfall created dangerous conditions. According to The Associated Press, a possible tornado in Montgomery, Alabama, has already damaged homes, and the National Weather Service’s Chicago office is surveying storm damage after six tornadoes were reported in central Illinois.

Find out what's happening in Across Americafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Cross country skiers ski in 10 plus inches of fresh snow at Theodore Wirth Park Ski Trails - The Loppet Foundation on Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twin Cities has received about 10 inches of snow so far and is expecting 2 to 4 inches of new snow in the next 24 hours. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)
Kelly Orth works his way out of waist-deep snow in front of his home in Apple Valley, Minnesota, on Wednesday. (Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP)
Heavy snowfall hampers mobility on King's Highway in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
A life-size model of a T-Rex is caked in fresh snow along Portland Avenue S. on Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twin Cities area has received about 10 inches of snow so far and is expecting 2 to 4 inches of new snow in the next 24 hours.(David Joles/Star Tribune via AP)
A crew works to remove fallen trees outside an entrance to the main public library in San Francisco, California, on Thursday. Damaging winds and heavy rains in California have knocked out power to tens of thousands, caused flash flooding and contributed to the deaths of at least two people. (AP Photo/Olga Rodriguez)
A flooded beach-side parking lot in front of beachfront homes is seen during a rainstorm in Seal Beach, California, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Cars sit stuck in a flooded underpass at Webster St. and 34th St. that has been flooded since this weekend's storm in Oakland, California, on Wednesday. (Salgu Wissmath/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A crew works to remove a tree that fell on top of an apartment building in Oakland, California, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A surfer paddles out at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, California, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A man walks past flooding on a street following a rainstorm in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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