Severe storms bringing flooding, rain and heavy snow along eastern US

(NEW YORK) — The eastern United States is being hit with severe weather this weekend, bringing flooding to the Southeast, rain to the mid-Atlantic and snow to the Northeast.

This weekend, 20 million Americans from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., are under a flood watch as heavy rain, gusty winds and frequent lightning threaten the southwestern U.S. Meanwhile, Alabama, Georgia and the Florida panhandle at risk of isolate tornados.

After picking up around two months’ worth of rain in the last few days, parts of eastern Texas and Louisiana are still dealing with major river flooding.

The Trinity River just northeast of Houston is currently in a Major Flood Stage — meaning significant to catastrophic, life-threatening flooding — and is forecast to stay above flood levels through at least Wednesday.

This overall storm system will take a turn up the east coast, bringing rain and snow to a wide area. Rain and snow begins in the Northeast early on Sunday, continuing in varying intensity from the daytime into Sunday night.

Higher elevations of Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will all be looking at several inches of snow, with some spots, including Boston and Albany, getting between 6 to 12 inches. Meanwhile smaller cities like Stanford and Erie are only likely to see about 1 to 3 inches of now.

Lower elevations, including major cities along the I-95 corridor, such as New York City, will likely see a wet snow that mixes with rainfall, limiting any snow accumulation.

The mid-Atlantic, including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., are expected to get 1 to 2 inches of rain as record high temperatures hit the area.

Washington D.C. reached 80 degrees on Friday for the first time in its 152-year history of weather records. Previously, the record for the earliest 80-degree day was February 21, 2018.

It wasn’t the only city to reach a record temperature. Charleston, South Carolina reached 83 degrees on Friday, breaking the previous record set for that day in 1949 and tying the city’s record for January, according to NWS Charleston.

Additionally, Wilmington, North Carolina also reached 83 degrees, breaking its all-time highest temperature from the month of January, NWS Wilmington reported.

The west will also be experiencing weather with an atmospheric river event soaking the Pacific Northwest over the weekend.

An atmospheric river is a long, narrow region atmosphere that transports water outside of the tropics, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. When the atmospheric rivers make landfall, the waterfall can either be rain or snow, the NOAA said.

The heaviest rain will likely be along the coast of Washington and Oregon, with several inches likely to cause scattered flooding.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.