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Freezing Rain, Mudslides, Canceled Flights, and a 35-Car Pileup as Severe Weather Strikes

CBN

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The eastern U.S. is still recovering from last week's blizzard and its icy aftermath which led to terrible traffic problems and cancelled flights. Now more severe weather could be on the way across the country, including heavy rain and mudslides in California. 

In New York, more than 115 flights were cancelled at JFK airport and 100 more were delayed as freezing rain, sleet and snow hit the area Monday night.

A water main broke at the airport over the weekend causing chaos and suspending international arrivals.

Frustrated passengers already delayed due to last week's storm were forced to wait it out again due to the problem.

Many travelers slept on floors as their suitcases sat elsewhere in inches of water.

"There are people who have been here for almost four days, who haven't slept, who haven't gone to a hotel, who are still trying to find their luggage," said traveler Matt Stein.

Kevin Oidoniz spent hours at the airport waiting to pick up a loved one whose flight didn't have a gate. 
  
It is frustrating," said Oidoniz. "A lot of people are waiting hours and hours."

Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling for a review of airport procedures. 
  
In a news conference Schumer said, "It seems almost everything that could go wrong went wrong."

In the South, icy weather conditions made for hazardous driving. Fifteen people were injured in a 35-car pileup on Interstate 75 in Georgia Monday.

And in Tennessee, drivers also encountered slick roads.

Frigid temperatures have blanketed much of the country. 

Lake Michigan near Chicago reportedly looks like a sea of slush.

Farther north, New Hampshire's Mount Washington was the second-coldest place on earth this weekend at minus 90!

Out west, California is facing mudslides from a storm with hard rains and high winds. 

Up to five inches of rain is forecast in some places. That could cause trouble for areas outside Los Angeles that have been hit hard by recent historic wildfires, with soil washing away from the bedrock because there is no vegetation left to hold it in place.

Mandatory and voluntary evacuations are in effect for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Residents are preparing for the worst by filling up sandbags to protect their homes.

"Water will come down my street and my fear is it coming over the sidewalk into my front yard and in my front door," said Ventura resident Paula Howell. 

Meanwhile, weather has taken a heavy toll on the country in the last year. The cost for weather-related disasters reportedly reached a record high $306 billion in the U.S. for 2017.

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