Much of the United States has experienced dangerous weather conditions, sometimes even deadly.

Three young lives were claimed by heavy rains in Kentucky Thursday night, when an Amish family was swept away when they tried to cross a flooded road in a horse and buggy. The mother and two of the children escaped.

Rain also drenched parts of southern Missouri, where five inches fell.

Further south in Little Rock, Ark., lightning struck the state capitol dome. Heavy rain and high winds blew two tractor-trailers off the road.

Winds were clocked at 60-miles-per-hour in some places in the South, ripping the roofs off homes, snapping power lines and knocking over trees.

Heavy snow fell from central Illinois, to Detroit, Mich., to Cleveland, Ohio.

In the West, Portland, Ore., saw three inches of snow fall from an usually cold air mass that could move down to California, even as far south as Los Angeles threatening crops there.

According to Weather Services International, much of the north and western U.S. will shiver through below average temperatures the next three months, while the South will struggle with severe drought conditions.