Winter storms could bring extreme weather to the East and West coasts this week

ABC News

(NEW YORK) -- Parts of the U.S. could see a white Christmas as storms hit the East and West coasts this week bringing extreme weather conditions.

There is a winter storm warning in place for California on Tuesday, where 3 to 8 feet of snow is possible. Some of the highest elevations may even see 10 feet of snow.

There are storm alerts in place for six states. The heaviest of the snow will hit Wednesday night into Thursday, continuing through Christmas. The area on I-80 around Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Mountains will get the heaviest of the snow.

The San Francisco Bay Area will see heavy rain at the same time, with possible localized flooding and mudslides. The area just south of the San Francisco Bay Area could see more than 4 inches of rain.

Thursday night into Friday morning, Los Angeles and southern California could see heavy rain, localized flooding and possible mudslides. Rainfall in southern California will be between 2 to 4 inches.

On the East coast, a storm system is moving its way through Florida, with a tornado threat in place from Orlando to Miami. There is also a chance for damaging winds.

The storm system will then move up the East coast bringing a burst of heavy snow and freezing rain for eastern New England, from Massachusetts to Maine.

A winter weather advisory is in place for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine where freezing rain is expected. Roads could be very slick.

A winter storm watch has been issued for northern Maine which is expected to see more than 7 inches of snow.

Temperatures on the East coast will warm up in time for Christmas.

 

Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 2:40PM by Nadine El-Bawab and Max Golembo, ABC News Permalink