Forecasters have sent out warnings over a storm system that is expected to prompt intense rainfall and possible tornadoes next week in the southern US, as cities across the country are bracing for intense weather leading into the weekend.
According to reports, the powerful storm system is expected to bring heavy rainfall and high winds to the Gulf coast and south-eastern regions as early as Monday and continue into Tuesday, the Weather Channel reported. Parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are also at risk of flooding from severe thunderstorms, with up to 5in of rain expected in some areas.
The latest extreme weather comes as a major storm is predicted to bring heavy snow to northern states and intense rainfall along the Gulf coast.
Forecasters have also warned that the storm could deliver heavy snowfall to north-eastern and New England states, where some cities have not had substantial snow in recent times. Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut could see 6-12in of snow, the National Weather Service Boston reported.
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A winter storm watch was also in effect in parts of New Hampshire, where the incoming storm could bring 6in of snow, the Boston Globe reported, and more than 25 million Americans are under storm watches from the Carolinas up the east coast to Maine.
Reports show that major east coast cities will probably face more rain than flurries. New York City is expected to receive less than an inch of snow, after a snowless winter last year.
It had been 690 days since the Big Apple picked up an inch or more of snow, local Fox 5 reported – a record stretch. The climate crisis is bringing milder, wetter winters to many parts amid global heating.
While New York state’s Hudson valley area could get 2-4in of snow this weekend, Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia could see a dusting, while most substantial snowfall will be inland up the eastern seaboard.
Georgia, Mississippi and other states along the Gulf coast were expected to receive heavy rainfall and thunderstorms starting on Friday and into the weekend, AccuWeather reported.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
