Photo Credit: By Ed Roberts - commons.wikimedia.org

Winter is here, and it is making its presence felt quite severely in the Northern and Midwestern parts of the USA, as well as parts, of Canada.

Back-to-back storms on Sunday and Monday, left vast areas of Washington and Oregon under water. The floods came in so fast that a lot of people were stranded in their homes and had to be rescued from their rooftops, via helicopter. Thousands of people lost power. Oregon's main freeway had to be shut down and is expected to remain closed until Thursday. While the storm has moved on, it has left behind flooded homes, fallen trees, and washed out roads. In areas where the roads are impassable food and water is being dropped from helicopters.

In the Midwest and Northeast States, a snow storm caused as much havoc (mess). It dropped over 9 inches of snow in some areas of North Dakota and caused several airplane delays in Milwaukee and Chicago. The Northeastern States have not been affected that severely yet, with New York receiving about 6 inches of snow and New Jersey less than 3 inches. However, a storm warning is in effect in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

The big storms are not all bad news. Ski resorts and Skiers are rejoicing (celebrating) the start of an early season. Also, the severe weather has resulted in several school closures, allowing the kids in the Midwest to enjoy this first snowfall.