Storms bear down on New England and East Coast as severe weather persists across the US

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — A major spring storm was expected to start dropping more than a foot of snow in parts of New England on Wednesday night, while heavy rains soaked the East Coast and cleanup work continued in several states wracked by tornadoes and other severe weather blamed for at least two deaths.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for several states in New England, where 7 to 18 inches (18 to 46 centimeters) of snow were expected with some local amounts topping 24 inches (61 centimeters) at higher elevations. Parts of New Hampshire and Maine were expected to see the highest amounts.

A mix of rain and snow was falling throughout the region by early evening and was expected through Thursday night in many areas.

Maine officials warned the storm was expected to cause difficult travel conditions, power outages and minor coastal flooding.

“Travel is discouraged during this storm due to unfavorable driving conditions,” Pete Rogers, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement. “Folks need to be prepared at home for the possibility of an extended power outage with emergency supplies, alternate power sources, and should charge their mobile devices in advance.”

In New Hampshire, the U.S. Forest Service issued an avalanche watch through Friday afternoon for parts of the White Mountains including Mount Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast at 6,288 feet (1,917 meters). The service warned backcountry hikers and skiers of the possibility that 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow or more could fall in higher elevations and create dangerous avalanche conditions.

Coastal flood warnings and watches were in effect in many areas stretching from Maine to Long Island, N.Y., while wind gusts of up to 60 mph (about 97 kph) were expected in eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and coastal Connecticut. Heavy rains and severe thunderstorms were also expected to impact the Mid-Atlantic states and Florida.

Forecasters said heavy, wet snow would persist across Wisconsin and Upper Michigan into Thursday, with 6 to 10 inches (15 to 20 centimeters) overall possible in far-northern Wisconsin and 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) in Madison, but just a trace in Milwaukee. Meanwhile, residents in some of Michigan's Upper Peninsula had already seen several inches of snow, with overall accumulations of 2 feet (0.6 meters) or more expected.

The severe weather comes a day after thousands of homes and businesses were left without power after strong storms roared through several states across the nation.

Storms in northeastern Oklahoma on Tuesday unleashed three suspected tornadoes and dumped heavy rain that was blamed for the death of a 46-year-old homeless woman in Tulsa who was sheltering inside a drainage pipe.

In Kentucky, storms that spawned at least five tornadoes led to one death and widespread damage in several counties, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday afternoon.

The weather-related death came from a traffic crash in Campbell County, Beshear said. No other major injuries were reported, he said.

Tornadoes touched down in Nelson, Anderson and Jessamine counties and the city of Prospect on Tuesday, according to the weather service.

Along with the confirmed tornadoes, Beshear said surveyors were looking at damage in four other counties to determine whether tornadoes were spawned there. More than a dozen additional counties reported damage from the storms, he said.

“We will get through this, and we’ll get through it together,” he said. “So many are hurting right now, and we want you to know we will be there for you.”

In Rockdale County, Georgia, crews planned to survey damage to determine whether a tornado touched down during the overnight hours, according to the weather service.

“My living room has been impaled by a tree,” Carolyn Gillman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Gillman said she rode out the storm in her bathroom and then heard rain coming into her house east of Atlanta.

“I just knew that that big ‘whoosh’ that I heard, that big crash I heard, was the tree coming through,” Gillman told the newspaper.

An EF-1 tornado also touched down in the northeast Tennessee town of Sunbright on Tuesday, according to the weather service.

The tornado’s path was about 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers), and it was 150 yards (137 meters) wide, the weather service added. The twister damaged numerous residential and commercial structures, in addition to barns and hardwood trees, in the city of about 500 people. No injuries or deaths were reported.

Sunbright Mayor Karen Melton told the Knoxville News Sentinel that she drove downtown once the tornado had passed, and she found a family there.

“We had a young mother and father holding their babies, an infant and a 4-year-old ,(when) the tornado ripped the roof of their apartment. ... It was just horrific and sad,” Melton said. “But they were safe, she had some scratches, but the babies were safe."

In West Virginia, more than 103,000 homes and businesses remained without power on Wednesday, mostly in the southern part of the state, according to poweroutage.us. Some Appalachian Power customers may not get their service back until Thursday night, the utility said.

Schools were closed in eight of West Virginia’s 55 counties Wednesday, and a state of emergency declared Tuesday by Gov. Jim Justice remained in place for several counties. Moderate flooding was forecast on the Ohio River, which was expected to crest nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) above flood stage Thursday at Wheeling.

In Crisp County, Georgia, roads were closed as emergency workers assessed damage to multiple homes and buildings after a storm early Wednesday morning, authorities said.

Photos shared by the sheriff’s office showed large trees atop one home and power lines draped across yards and roads. Residents were advised to limit travel due to the damage and possible gas leaks.

“We’ve been in there all morning surveying the damage, trying to make sure everybody in the homes are OK,” Crisp County Sheriff Billy Hancock said via Facebook.

Crisp County is about 140 miles (225 kilometers) south of Atlanta.

Flooding was also a problem in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Between 2 and 3 1/2 inches (5.1 and 8.9 centimeters) of rain had fallen in western Pennsylvania since late Monday night, leading to flooding in all corners of the region. A flood warning was in effect for much of the region through Wednesday afternoon due to widespread risk of standing water on roadways, as well as rising creeks, streams and rivers. Several homeless encampments along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Pittsburgh were abandoned due to flooding concerns.

Several counties in northeastern Ohio saw minor to moderate flooding after three days of nearly continuous rain. Flood watches and warnings remained in effect, though conditions were expected to improve by Wednesday night.

Associated Press writers Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky, Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn., John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

The canopy of a gas station is strewn about the ground, Wednesday, April 3, 2024, outside the Par Mar convenience store off Route 60 in Hico, W.Va., after a storm hit the area the night before. (Rick Barbero/The Register-Herald via AP)

Greg Crist walks down Lookout Road in Hico, W.Va., Wednesday, April 3, 2024, as he looks over the damage from a storm that hit in the area the day before. (Rick Barbero/The Register-Herald via AP)

Kay Persinger looks out over what was once her daughter's garage on Lookout Road in Hico, W.Va., Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Persinger was tucked down in the corner of the garage when a storm hit the area the day before. Persinger survived the storm but suffered a gash on her left leg and fractured two toes. (Rick Barbero/The Register-Herald via AP)

Workers survey damage after a tornado damaged multiple buildings and homes in Sunbright, Tenn., Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (Saul Young/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)

A business in Sunbright, Tenn., is heavily damaged after a tornado passed through the area on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (Saul Young/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)

Beaver Falls, Pa., firefighter Jason Tyger, right, gets some help carrying a woman from a boat after she was rescued from her flooded home on McKim Way in Franklin Township, Pa., Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

A tree sits uprooted and the roof is ripped off a home belonging to Johnny Carte on Lookout Road in Hico, W.Va., Wednesday, April 3, 2024, after a storm hit the area the day before. (Rick Barbero/The Register-Herald via AP)

Jamie Coleman looks over at her storage building, Wednesday, April 3, 2024, that blew over in her yard along Route 60 in Hico, W.Va., during a storm that hit the area the day before. (Rick Barbero/The Register-Herald via AP)

In this image released by the Ohio Department of Transportation, a person is seen stranded on his vehicle in flood waters at I-270 and US 23 in Columbus' South Side, Ohio, Tuesday, April 3, 2024. Authorities said the driver drove around barricades on Wednesday morning around 8 a.m and stranded in high water. The barricades were placed since Tuesday afternoon as water from the Scioto River continued to rise due to heavy rainall in the region. (Ohio Department of Transportation via AP)

Pedestrians push their umbrellas against the wind as rain falls in downtown Manhattan in New York on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. More severe weather is coming across the nation. A major spring storm is expected to drop more than a foot of snow in parts of New England on Wednesday, while heavy rains are likely to soak the East Coast. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)

A display of giant baseballs lining the Northshore riverwalk outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh are partially submerged by the overflowing Allegheny River Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The Northshore riverwalk outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh is flooded by the overflowing Allegheny River Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The Northshore riverwalk outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh is flooded by the overflowing Allegheny River Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A worker cut up downed tress lying across the road following severe storms that passed through Prospect, Ky., Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Capt. Patrick Staudenheimer, left, with the Anchorage Middletown Fire Department, speaks with an employee of the Louisville Gas and Electric company informing him of possible gas leaks following severe storms in Prospect, Ky., Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Firefighters with the Anchorage Middletown Fire Department check houses for gas leaks following severe storms that passed through Prospect, Ky., Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

A large tree lays across the front yard of a house in the Hunting Creek neighborhood in Prospect, Ky., Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Severe storms passed through the area uprooting trees and cutting power to many areas. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union.

Prime Minister Miloš Vučević's government got backing in a 152-61 vote in the 250-member parliament. The remaining 37 lawmakers were absent.

The government includes former intelligence chief Aleksandar Vulin, who has made several visits to Russia in recent months, as one of several vice-premiers, along with Nenad Popović, another Russia supporter who has faced U.S. sanctions.

The foreign minister in the previous government, Ivica Dačić, also a pro-Russia politician, will be in charge of the Interior Ministry in the new Cabinet.

The vote followed a heated two-day debate. President Aleksandar Vučić's ruling nationalist conservative Serbian Progressive Party holds a comfortable majority after an election in December that fueled political tensions because of reports of widespread irregularities.

The increasingly authoritarian Vučić has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, though Serbia has condemned the aggression.

Vučević, the new prime minister, reiterated that Belgrade doesn't intend to impose sanctions on Russia and “cannot and will not give up" the friendship with Russia. Integration into the EU remains a ”strategic goal," Vucevic said.

"Best possible” relations with the U.S. also are in Serbia's interest, Vučević added. “I firmly believe that our relations can once again be on a high level.”

Security analyst and a Belgrade university professor Filip Ejdus described the new government's composition as a “spin" designed to send a message both to the West and Russia, and to voters at home.

“It sends a message to the EU that they should not push Belgrade too much over democracy, rule of law, or Kosovo if they want to keep Serbia in its orbit,” Ejdus said. “At the same time, it signals to Moscow a readiness to strengthen the strategic partnership with Russia.”

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Vulin in July, accusing him of involvement in illegal arms shipments, drug trafficking and misuse of public office.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said that Vulin used his public authority to help a U.S.-sanctioned Serbian arms dealer move illegal arms shipments across Serbia’s borders. Vulin is also accused of involvement in a drug trafficking ring, according to U.S. authorities.

Vulin, who in the past had served as both the army and police chief, has recently received two medals of honor from Russia, one from the Federal Security Service, or FSB, and the other was awarded to him by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Popović, a businessman and a former government minister, has “used his Russia-based businesses to enrich himself and gain close connections with Kremlin senior leaders,” the U.S. Treasury said last November in a statement.

The U.S. sanctions against individuals and companies in the Balkans are designed to counter attempts to undermine peace and stability in the volatile region and Russia's “malign” influence.

The West has stepped up efforts to lure the troubled region into its fold, fearing that Russia could stir unrest to avert attention from the war in Ukraine. The Balkans went through multiple wars in the 1990s, and tensions still persist.

Serbia's falling democracy record has pushed the country away from EU integration, explained Ejdus. Reports of election fraud at the Dec. 17 vote triggered street protests and clashes.

“Vučić is still pretending to be on the EU path because it’s beneficial for Serbia’s economy, and the EU tolerates his authoritarian tendencies out of fear of instability that could be caused in its backyard if Belgrade was lost to Russia and China,” Ejdus said.

Aleksandar Vulin, former director of Serbia's intelligence agency, right, smiles during a parliament session while Serbia's prime minister designate Milos Vucevic presents a plan for the new government to the parliament members in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Serbia's new government will include a former intelligence chief, Aleksandar Vulin who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's Prime Minister designate Milos Vucevic presents a plan for the new government to the parliament members in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's Prime Minister designate Milos Vucevic presents a plan for the new government to the parliament members in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's former Prime Minister and Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic, left, speaks with Serbia's new Prime Minister Milos Vucevic at the parliament session during her cabinet's swearing in ceremony at the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's Prime Minister designate Milos Vucevic presents a plan for the new government to the parliament members in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's new Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, front, speaks with Aleksandar Vulin, former director of Serbia's intelligence agency, who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States at the parliament session during the cabinet's swearing in ceremony at the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, left, kisses Serbia's new Prime Minister Milos Vucevic after taking the oath during the cabinet's swearing in ceremony at the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's new Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and ministers of the new government of Serbia read their oaths at the parliament session during her cabinet's swearing in ceremony at the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)