Major storm to sweep United States with severe weather, snow, flooding

A strong storm system is poised to roll across the United States and deliver widespread hazardous weather. It arrived Saturday in California, where it produced thunderstorms, flooding and heavy mountain snow. As it charges eastward, few areas will be spared from its effects.

00:02 02/04/2024

A large storm system moving across the the country is threatening much of the central and eastern United States this week with severe weather, with meteorologists warning of powerful thunderstorms, floods, potentially damaging hail and tornadoes.

Over the weekend, the system fueled storms that drenched Southern California, dropped tennis ball-sized hail over parts of Illinois and flooded low-lying areas throughout the Midwest.

On Monday, some 16 million people were placed under an "enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms," according to the National Weather Service, with major cities such as Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Arlington facing the largest threat of tornadoes and "large to potentially giant hail." More than 30 millions others, from Arizona to Pennsylvania, were under marginal and slight risk of intense storm conditions.

Showers and thunderstorms were also expected Monday over parts of the mid-Atlantic region, hitting mainly Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, the weather service said. Several inches of rain were expected to batter localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roadways and small streams being most vulnerable.

Tuesday may bring extreme weather east

The large system "will be quasi-stationary through Tuesday morning," which prompted the weather service to extend an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Plains and Midwest regions.

Beginning Tuesday morning and continuing throughout the day, the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys as well as the central Gulf Coast states including Louisiana, Alabama and northern Florida – a vast area encompassing more than 50 million people – will be at risk of severe weather, according to the weather service.

"Wind damage and isolated large hail will be possible across a broad area," the weather service said. "The tornado threat is expected to be greatest from middle Tennessee north-northeastward into central and northern Kentucky."

Storm bringing snow, cold weather to Northeast later this week

The large storm system making its way across the country is threatening the Midwest and Northeast with an "all-out winter storm," according to AccuWeather.

Beginning on Tuesday, snow is expected to drop across parts of Wisconsin and Illinois before conditions intensify, with several inches of snow expected in parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, AccuWeather said.

Powerful wind gusts may snarl traffic and disrupt travel across the Atlantic Coast, AccuWeather said, adding that the combination of snow and wind is expected to last through Friday.

Rain damages section of Highway 1 in California, prompting closure

A section of Highway 1 in California remains closed due to a partial collapse of the road that occurred Saturday amid a storm that drenched a large area of Southern California in several inches of rain, according to the state's Department of Transportation.

The collapse was reported Saturday as heavy rain fell in the area. By noon on Sunday, Caltrans crews were able to lead drivers through a single lane in the area, around the damaged section. The agency said on X on Sunday evening the highway remained closed on the Big Sur Coast due to a slip out just south of the Rocky Creek Bridge.

Though it didn't qualify as an atmospheric river because it lacks a strong link to tropical moisture, the area of low pressure that moved through Southern California represented a powerful final charge from the rainy season before the full-fledged transition to spring and the state’s dry months.