The dire weather predictions were right

Bringing death destruction and fright

A succession of storms brought 12 feet of snow

Torrential rains brought severe flooding to Ohio

Mudslides in California swept many homes away

Twenty one people missing - what a terrible day

A mother watched her 2-year old child being swept downstream

The wicked wind howled and roared and drowned out her screams

A rain-engorged lake may soon spill over its banks

The weather systems lately leave very little to thank

More rockslides and avalanches are probably on the way

For all of these many weather victims we should now pray

Rain pounded water-logged California again early Tuesday, hampering efforts to find survivors buried under a mud slide in a coastal community and prompting hundreds to flee a mountain town before a rain-engorged lake spills over a dam.

A succession of storms, which have brought heavy snow to parts of Northern California and astonishing amounts of rain to the south, were blamed for the deaths of at least 12 people, turning normally mild Southern California into a giant flood zone.

The storm dumped record rainfall on much of Southern California and more than a dozen feet of snow on much of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California.   These mountains were expected to pile up 3 more feet of snow before the storms subside late Tuesday.  Hazardous avalanche warnings have now been posted.

Heavy rain and snow also produced flooding along the Ohio River that has affected communities in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, covering riverside roads and forcing residents to evacuate.