Eastern United States

Flooding, high winds and fog hit swaths of the East Coast, forcing evacuations and knocking Army skydivers off course in North Carolina. In Virginia, two people died -- including a man who was rescued after his truck was swept away but tried to return to the vehicle. Overflowing streams in Virginia and West Virginia forced evacuations after a week of heavy rain and snow. High wind and fog caused havoc elsewhere, closing roads from Kansas to New Jersey.

The first significant snowstorm of the season swirled up the Atlantic Coast on Friday, disrupting travel, downing power lines and delighting children who frolicked in the flakes. Gridlock gripped many streets in New York City at the height of the evening rush hour. As cars skidded and buses crawled along slick roads, many people took to the subways. Some local trains became so overcrowded they only stopped at express stations as transit officials grew concerned about taking on more passengers.

A snowy and rainy winter has pulled the East Coast out of its five-year drought, replenishing lakes and aquifers from Georgia to Maine. Coastal states averaged about 25% more precipitation than the typical 3 to 4 inches a month from October to March, according to the National Weather Service. Virginia recorded its 10th-wettest winter in 108 years and Maryland its 11th.

Four days after Hurricane Isabel barreled into the East Coast, thousands of people went back to work without the benefit of hot showers and encountered miles of blank traffic lights and downed power lines. Nearly 1.5 million customers remained without electricity. Elderly residents were shuttled by boat from their flooded homes. And hundreds of roads were shut because of toppled trees and power lines. At least 36 deaths have been blamed on the storm.

If you're not autumning in New England, this photo book may be the next best thing. In "A New England Autumn," all the roads are back roads. Ferenc Máté's photos take you across six states, capturing boatyards and church-steepled hillsides. Accompanying the photos are some of the most ruminative works of Frost, Longfellow, Thoreau and others.

Frigid weather chilled the Eastern half of the nation Saturday, overwhelming homeless shelters, slickening roads with snow and keeping utilities and fuel companies scrambling to meet the demand. The continuing cold and accompanying snowstorms have been blamed for at least 80 deaths in 17 states and the nation's capital.

Citing hurricane damage to the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico, key lawmakers are trying to relax a decades-old federal ban on new drilling off California and the Atlantic Seaboard and to encourage energy prospecting in the Rocky Mountains. Congressional proposals also aim to waive some air pollution rules to encourage expansion of oil refineries and to authorize oil drilling beneath Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

A snowstorm moving Friday from Canada into the Great Lakes drew weather warnings from North Dakota to New Jersey and the Long Island Sound, with some areas bracing for a foot of snow or more. New Jersey and areas around New York City expected as much as 15 inches of snow this weekend. Several areas to the west expected less snow, but some, such as southwestern Ohio, already had several inches on the ground from earlier storms. At the Hidden Valley Resort in Vernon, N.J.

Residents of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland were shaken Tuesday by a moderate earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 4.5, was centered about 28 miles west of Richmond. People reported feeling the quake in the three states and the District of Columbia. Virginia's Department of Emergency Management received some reports of minor damage, mainly from areas west of the epicenter, said Robert Spieldenner, director of public affairs.

The remnants of a huge winter storm plowed toward the East Coast after dumping as much as 2 feet of snow in the Upper Midwest, grounding hundreds of airline flights and closing major highways on the Plains. There was a blizzard warning in southern Wisconsin and storm warnings stretching from southeast Nebraska to northern Michigan and from northern Virginia to the southern East Coast. A snow warning was in effect for New York City today.