This week, a powerful bidirectional winter storm stretching nearly 2,000 miles brought stark contrasts across the country. Parts of the northeast are bracing for ice and snow, while the south faces the threat of torrential rain and flash flooding.
Travelers should expect significant disruption and residents should prepare for the possibility of flooding, severe thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow.
Days of flash flooding threat in the south
According to the FOX Prediction Center, multiple rounds of heavy rain will hit parts of the Deep South, especially parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia. Rain totals will range from 2 to 3 inches, with locally more than 5 inches possible.
The worst of the rain is expected to fall in parts of Louisiana and southern Alabama. Additionally, the threat of severe weather is likely to be low on Wednesday. As the cold front moves through quickly, damaging wind gusts and a tornado or two are possible.
It continues to rain and snow in Tohoku
The Tohoku region will experience a different kind of winter weather.
Beneficial rain is likely to flood the Northeast and I-95 into early Thursday morning, according to the FOX Prediction Center. Areas along I-95 could see 3 to 5 inches of rain.
More significant rain is expected Wednesday as a strong cold front floods the eastern third of the Lower 48.
Floodwaters are shaping up Wednesday, increasing the risk of flash flooding along I-95, according to the FOX Prediction Center. This rain will arrive well in advance of the advance of the cold front, thanks to tropical-like moisture moving in from the Southeast.
The most severe impacts are expected from New York City to Boston. Both storm systems combined could dump more than 3 inches of rain in some locations.
The FOX Prediction Center says the rains won't completely eliminate drought concerns, but they will provide a big boost as the new year approaches.
Rain could mix or turn to snow in parts of the Interior Northeast and New England by Wednesday night as cold air re-enters areas behind the cold front that will drive Wednesday's rain.
But wet ground and warmer temperatures ahead of winter weather make it difficult to predict where snow will fall and how much it will accumulate.
The next lake effect snow event is scheduled to arrive in the Great Lakes on Wednesday
The Great Lakes region, already battered by recent snowstorms, is facing another round of lake-effect snowfall expected to begin Wednesday and continue through Friday.
A heavy band of snow is expected to develop off the coasts of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, but its exact location is still unknown, the FOX Prediction Center said.
If the winds shift further to the southwest, Western New York could see the heaviest snow. Otherwise, the biggest impacts could be from Lake County in northeastern Ohio to the northeast, along with parts of northern Ashtabula County, Ohio, and lakeshore areas in Erie County, Pennsylvania.
A secondary front may temporarily change the snowfall pattern Wednesday night, with heavy snow possible in lakeshore areas during this event.
