Winter storms blast eastern U.S.

Over 50 million people across the eastern U.S. were under winter weather alerts on Monday. Heavy snowfall and wind shuttered flights and snarled traffic over the weekend. While snow turned into rain and slush by midday Monday, temperatures were expected to plummet again and layer roadways with ice.

How bad is the damage? Heavy winds turned into tornadoes in southwestern Florida on Sunday, destroying 30 mobile homes, severely damaging at least 50 more, and injuring at least three residents. Governors in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia activated the National Guard to help authorities with storm response. Virginia State Police responded to nearly 1,000 car crashes and stranded vehicles on Sunday alone. Two drivers died Sunday in North Carolina when a car slid off the road into a tree grove. Several New York cities enforced a travel ban Monday as meteorologists forecast more than a foot of snow for regions of the Northeast with winds up to 60 mph through Tuesday.

Dig deeper: Check the National Weather Service for the latest updates.