Hundreds of thousands without power in Northeast after deadly storms wallop US

(NEW YORK) — Severe weather across the U.S. has left at least five people dead and is causing rivers to rise to dangerous levels as more winter storms move in.

Hundreds of thousands of customers are without power across the U.S. Wednesday, with New York and Pennsylvania hit the hardest.

While the rain in the Northeast has stopped for now, it could still cause rivers to rise over their banks in the next two days.

The Raritan River crested Wednesday in Piscataway Township, New Jersey, and local police urged residents to move cars near the river to higher ground.

In Norwich, Connecticut, dam conditions prompted officials to issue a mandatory evacuation order on Wednesday for areas along the Yantic River.

“Residents evacuating from Yantic are advised that they may be displaced from their residences and businesses for several days,” Norwich Public Utilities warned.

The Pawtuxet River in Rhode Island and the Pompton and Passaic rivers in New Jersey could also go to into major flooding stages.

On Tuesday, the storms caused at least five fatalities across the U.S.

In Wisconsin, one person was killed in a car crash due to poor road conditions amid snowfall, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.

Another car crash killed a 35-year-old woman in Webber Township, Michigan, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

In Cottonwood, Alabama, an 81-year-old woman was killed when a possible tornado blew her mobile home over multiple times while she was inside, according to the Houston County medical examiner and coroner.

Another person was killed when severe weather damaged multiple residences at a mobile home park in Claremont, North Carolina, and the National Weather Service is evaluating where a tornado occurred in the area, according to the Catawba County Government.

In Jonesboro, Georgia, a tree fell on the windshield of a car, killing the driver, according to the Clayton County Police Department.

Since Monday, at least 23 tornadoes have been reported across Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina.

The same system brought up to 15 inches of snow to the Midwest and winds as high as 65 mph to the Northeast.

More than 3 inches of heavy rain fell on top of melting snow in the Northeast, crippling travel as floodwaters spilled into roadways.

Now, another cross-country weather system is headed toward the East Coast.

The storm has already dumped up to 30 inches of snow in the Pacific Northwest.

The system is expected to move through the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada mountain range on Wednesday and Thursday, leaving several feet of snow, before shifting east and producing another severe weather outbreak from Texas to the Carolinas, with the possibility of tornadoes.

Another major snowstorm is expected in the north with up to 1 foot of snowfall from Nebraska to Michigan.

Storms are forecast to move into the Northeast on Friday night and Saturday morning, bringing up to 4 inches of heavy rain and the potential for flooding.

ABC News’ Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.

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