Extreme weather will affect 200 MILLION Americans today – with tornadoes and power outages expected on the East Coast – as forecasters warn of coastal flooding in the Northeast, similar to the blizzard of 1996

Winter Storm Finn is wreaking havoc along the East Coast, and New Jersey declared a state of emergency ahead of its approach after tornadoes ravaged the South.

The National Weather Service predicts the system will bring widespread heavy rain, high winds and severe thunderstorms to the eastern U.S. Tuesday through early Wednesday, creating hazardous conditions.

Heavy rains that could lead to flooding are forecast to spread from the Florida Panhandle all the way to southern Maine.

Forecasters say there is a particular risk extending from Northern Virginia to Southern New England, where an estimated one to five inches of precipitation combined with this weekend’s highly saturated and in some cases snow-covered ground could lead to flooding could lead.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency at 5pm on Tuesday, ahead of the storms.

“Starting tomorrow morning and continuing through Wednesday morning, we expect 1 to 4 inches of heavy rain, high winds and possible inland and coastal flooding,” Murphy said.

“This storm will exacerbate the effects of the poor conditions we experienced in December and last weekend and could precede another storm on Friday evening. As always, I urge all New Jerseyans – including residents of our coastal and riverine communities – to follow all safety protocols and stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.”

As of Tuesday morning, 17 damaging wind reports stretched from eastern Texas to far western Florida, according to the Storm Predication Center.

The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down in Walton County, Florida.