Storms cover the northeast of the US with snow and cleanup work begins in the south after a balance of 12 deaths

The storm system that brought strong winds, snowfall and killed at least 12 people in the southern United States, covered the northeast of the country in white on Saturday, with over a foot of snow in regions like New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Although storm conditions began to abate toward Saturday night, authorities they still warned that it was dangerous to drive following dozens of reports of cars and trucks running off the roads.

In the Albany region, the capital of New York, crews worked to restore power to nearly 20,000 customers as heavy, wet snow snapped tree limbs.

In the South and Midwest of the country cleanup work started following the storm produced ferocious winds and heavy snow that caused widespread damage and multiple deaths before moving across the Northeast on Saturday.

The death toll from the storm rose with additional deaths reported in Indiana and Michigan, while the governor of Kentucky said at least five people were killed in that state as the system generated straight-line winds, possible tornadoes and powerful thunderstorms in the south on Friday.

The system previously hit California with up to 10 feet of snow. Search teams have rescued several stranded Californians in the state’s mountain communities, and it is likely that some residents in the mountains east of Los Angeles remain trapped in their homes for at least another week following the snowfall proved too much for most snowplows to handle.

In Indiana, a state trooper was struck by a vehicle and died Friday followingnoon while helping with traffic jams following weather-related accidents.

Chief Officer James R. Bailey, 50, was struck while deploying stop poles on Interstate 69 near Auburn to stop a speeding fleeing Fort Wayne police vehicle, state police said. A 42-year-old Marion, Indiana man has been arrested and faces one charge of resisting law enforcement causing the death of a law enforcement officer.

In Michigan, a 80-year-old man was struck and killed Friday night by a machine snowplow backing up while clearing snow from a driveway in Ann Arbor, MLive.com reported. The snowplow driver said he didn’t know he had hit the man until a passerby caught his eye, police said.

At least five deaths were reported in hard-hit Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday. The storm, with wind gusts exceeding 70 mph, downed trees and power lines and damaged homes and other buildings.

“This is very significant and widespread damage throughout Kentucky,” Beshear said.

In central Tennessee, where the Severe weather downed power lines and damaged homes, at least two deaths were attributed to the storm. In both cases, the victims were struck by falling trees, authorities told local media.

About 728,000 utility customers in Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee lost power, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 330,000 of those customers were in Kentucky, and the governor warned that it would take days for utility crews to fully restore service.

Utility failure in Kentucky

Kentucky electric cooperatives reported hundreds of downed utility poles and thousands of downed power lines across the Bluegrass state. Soft ground due to heavy rains slowed the progress of heavy equipment to access damaged infrastructure.

“The damage from this event is as extensive as any natural disaster I have seen in the history of Kentucky cooperatives,” said Chris Perry, president and CEO of Kentucky Electric Cooperatives.

In Alabama, a man 70 years old who was sitting in his pickup truck in Talledega County he died when a tree fell on his vehicle. A 43-year-old man in Lauderdale County and a man in Huntsville also died Friday from falling trees, local authorities said. Heavy rains caused flooding in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

In the upper Midwest, snowfall this Saturday caused widespread power outages and forced the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to close briefly Friday night. Thousands of residents in the region had already been without power for days following recent ice storms hit Michigan.

Victoria Burnett felt a foreboding as snow began to fall Friday in Farmington Hills, northwest of Detroit. Burnett was without power for seven days following the first ice storm. She was able to use a generator until she got service back on her.

“When it started snowing (Friday) and I saw that it was heavy, wet snow, I was really worried,” Burnett said. His lights flickered, but the power stayed on.

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The winter storm that affects several states of the country broke records, forced the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights this Thursday, left almost a million homes and businesses without electricity, and closed several roads, causing some drivers to spend the night in their vehicles by getting trapped. In the photograph, a man makes his way in Draper, Utah. The Salt Lake Tribune reported snowfall of between 4 and 9 inches (11 and 22 centimeters) across the state.

Credit: GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images

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Another of the sites that registered records during this Wednesday and Thursday was Portland, Oregon. In the image appears Joan Josper, who uses skis to get to her house in that city this Thursday, February 23. “They always talk regarding ‘snowmageddon’ on the news, and then we usually ignore it… and, well… 11 inches later here we are!” she told the AP.

Credit: Drew Callister/AP

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A snow covered car in Portland, Oregon. The city experienced the second largest snowfall in its history, recording 11 inches (28 centimeters) of snow. Bad weather surprised drivers, halted traffic during Wednesday followingnoon’s rush hour and trapped motorists on highways for hours. Some spent the night in their vehicles, according to reports.

Credit: Drew Callister/AP

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The National Weather Service (NWS). originally predicted a 20% chance that Portland would have more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow. The probability of getting 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters). Wednesday’s snowfall exceeded these forecasts.

Credit: Drew Callister/AP

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The winter storm also brought unusual snowfall to Southern California. San Diego issued its first snow alert in its history, while Los Angeles hadn’t had such an advisory since 1989.

Credit: Jae C. Hong/AP

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Some parts of California will maintain snow alerts through Saturday. Forecasters are expecting a wind chill as low as -40º F (-40º C) in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the northern part of the state.

Credit: Jae C. Hong/AP

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Workers remove ice from a Southwest Airlines plane at Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah. Forecasters expect the low temperatures in the city to continue into next week.

Credit: Rick Bowmer/AP

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Passengers wait in a lounge at the Denver International Airport, Colorado, on Wednesday. The winter storm forced the cancellation of almost 1,800 flights on Wednesday and more than 1,080 by Thursday followingnoon.

Credit: Thomas Peipert/AP

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A vehicle shovels snow from a street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where bad weather caused disruptions to both ground and air transportation. The Minneapolis-St. Paul concentrated 30% of the cancellations both on Wednesday and this Thursday.

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Ice covers the branches of a tree in Chicago, Illinois. The blackouts caused interruptions in electricity service for almost a million customers this Thursday, according to the website poweroutage.us. Most of them, 822,000, in Michigan. Other affected states include Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Oregon and California.

Credit: Nam Y. Huh/AP

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Ken Palmquist walks his dog, Harper, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this Thursday, February 23, 2023. The NWS maintains that the storm will continue to affect several states in the country at least until this weekend.

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The powerful winter storm that hits much of the US is affecting the main roads of the country. The authorities alert the population of the dangers of driving on roads with ice and low visibility. Follow the latest news on Univision.