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Coast to Coast Emergencies: US West Buried in Snow, East Under Water (PHOTOS)

If one thing's for certain, it's that the Land of the Free won't be entering the new year as quietly as one would hope thanks to blizzards and flood rains pummeling US residents on both coasts.
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Along the northern Plains and Upper Midwest, residents are trying to dig themselves out of piles of snow, while others over yonder in Arizona and the Texas Panhandle are trying to manage what's still falling.

​According to Accuweather, parts of North and South Dakota and Minnesota are expected to receive between 12 to 18 inches of snow. The National Weather Service's Aberdeen station has already reported an accumulation of 8.3 inches of snow since the flakes began falling earlier this week.

​However, even after the snow ceases to fall, locals will have to deal with strong winds and arctic temperatures that won't get out of the teens. Transportation officials have even urged locals to stay off the roads due to icy conditions.

University campuses and municipal buildings across North Dakota were among services shuttered on Thursday due to whiteout conditions, AP reported.

​So far, the most snow was recorded at McGregor, Minnesota, which reported a whopping 19.2 inches of the stuff, according to the National Weather Service. Eighteen inches were reported in the township of Finland.

​Residents living in Albuquerque were issued a blizzard warning by the National Weather Service, while the rest of the state was placed under a winter storm warning expected to stay in place until Saturday.

​Some parts of Albuquerque have already seen several inches of snow, according to local media outlets. With road conditions worsening, state officials in New Mexico shut down a 24-mile stretch of Interstate 40 due to current blizzard conditions.

​In the southeastern and eastern US, the threat many locals are facing comes from rains and flooding. According to USA Today, some 50 million people in the region have been placed under flood watches, warnings and advisories.

Parts of metro Atlanta have seen between four and five inches of rain, which have prompted officials to close down various streets. A second round of heavy rains is expected to hit Georgia and nearby states overnight Saturday, with a third round on Monday, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported.

​Forecasters have predicted that the region could get hit with an additional two to three inches of rain. Meteorologist Katie Walls of WSB-TV tweeted Friday that "2018 is now ranked the 3rd wettest on record for Atlanta going back to 1879."

Atlanta Fire Rescue took to Twitter early Friday to urge residents to steer clear of flooded areas, standing water and fast moving water. "Turn around, don't drown," the department wrote.

In nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee, locals aren't faring any better.

​The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Weather Prediction Center issued a slight risk of excessive rainfall and flooding from parts of Alabama to Tennessee, where the Tennessee Valley Authority is already releasing water from all nine dams in preparation for the incoming rainfall.

Rescue officials in the Volunteer State have already been put to work. The Dahlonega Nugget shared footage early Friday of workers acting fast to rescue a woman and her baby from the Clay Creek.

But not all incidents have ended on such a positive note. In Marion County, Tennessee, a woman was swept away by flash flood waters near the Tennessee-Alabama state line. Her body was recovered Friday morning.

​According to the National Weather Service, the storm system dumped roughly 12 inches of rain in Louisiana and Mississippi before it moved toward North Carolina. The system was also blamed for a death in Louisiana in which a tree fell on a camper.

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