High winds, pounding rain hit eastern U.S.; 500 flights canceled

By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A powerful storm with pounding rains and high winds roared up the U.S. East Coast on Monday, threatening to snarl travel for millions, after tornadoes killed at least 20 people in the South over the weekend. More than 500 U.S. flights were canceled by midday Thursday, with Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey the hardest hit U.S. airport. About 10 percent of its flights were canceled, according to the air traffic website FlightAware. New York City emergency management officials warned winds could top 70 mph (112 kph) through Monday night, with several inches (cm) of rain. Flood advisories and watches were issued for much of the city. AccuWeather forecast up to 2 inches (5 cm) of rain drenching an area stretching from Pittsburgh to Washington north to Boston by late Tuesday. Northern Pennsylvania and parts of New England were expected to get more than 6 inches (18 cm) of wet snow, producing dangerously slick roads. Winds topping 50 miles per hour (80 km per hour) could whip the East Coast from Delaware to eastern Maine. "The coastal flood threat will be greatest at times of high tide," said AccuWeather meteorologist Brett Rathbun. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the front would reach the Middle Atlantic coast by Monday evening, and flash floods were possible near the southern Appalachian Mountains. Fifteen people died in weekend tornadoes and thunderstorms in Georgia. Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler said four people were killed, adding there was a "great possibility" the death count could rise. Mississippi reported four dead from a tornado on Saturday. One death was reported in northern Florida's Columbia County after a tree fell on a home on Sunday. The NWS warned of flooding along the Chickasawhay and Leaf rivers in southeast Mississippi, with the Chickasawhay expected to crest on Wednesday afternoon. Flash flood watches were issued for southern California through late Monday, with hail and thunderstorms forecast after a Pacific storm system dropped 4 inches (10 cm) of rain on Los Angeles over three days, the NWS reported. The agency said the system would bring heavy snow to the state's Sierra Nevada mountains and then move into the Rocky Mountains. (Additional reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla., Frank McGurty and Chris Michaud in New York, David Beasley in Atlanta and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Editing by Scott Malone and Jeffrey Benkoe)