Western US Storms Kill 3

Weather conditions have yet to clear up on the West Coast, where storms have deposited 5 or more feet of snow on mountain ranges, caused severe flooding and blackouts, and killed at least three people. Higher Sierra Nevada peaks have gotten up to 9 feet of snow, the AP reports, and more is expected. Some counties in Nevada and California have been declared emergency areas.

In a desert town east of Reno, residents had to be rescued by helicopter and boat after an overflowing canal surged through a ruptured levee. One woman was killed near Los Angeles when her car was swept up by floods, and two others—one in Oregon, one in Northern California—died from falling branches and trees. But California and Nevada did reopen a stretch of interstate today. (More weather stories.)