3 bitter cold winter storms to bring heavy snow, ice

(NEW YORK) — At least 26 states are under alerts for snow, ice and flooding as three winter storms cross the country over the next few days.

The first storm is moving into the Ohio River Valley on Tuesday with snow coming down from Paducah, Kentucky, to Evansville, Indiana; as well as in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky.

A winter storm warning has been issued from Louisville to Atlantic City, New Jersey, including Washington, D.C. An ice storm warning is in effect for parts of West Virginia.

This winter storm will move out of Ohio Valley and into the Mid-Atlantic states by early afternoon Tuesday, reaching D.C. between noon and 1 p.m.

Total snow accumulation will be around 3 to 5 inches in Louisville and the Ohio River Valley, about 3 to 6 inches in Washington, D.C., proper and 4 to 8 inches possible south and west of D.C.

Snow will be light further north, with only 2 to 3 inches possible in Philadelphia and possibly 1 to 2 inches in New York City. New England should miss this storm system completely.

Further south, a flood watch has been issued from Texas to Georgia as heavy rain could cause flash flooding.

Second storm

The second storm will develop over the Rockies and the Plains later Tuesday, with a heavy swath of snow spreading north into the Great Lakes.

Snow is forecast from Denver all the way to Chicago and Detroit, where winter storm watches and warnings have been issued.

The snow will spread into Kansas City, Missouri, early Wednesday morning. The steady snow will reach Chicago late Wednesday morning into the afternoon.

The storm system will reach the East Coast by Wednesday evening with a wintry mix that will turn to rain from D.C. to New York City and Boston.

Further inland, several inches of snow are possible from the Catskill Mountains in New York to the Green and White mountains in New England.

This storm will also bring heavy rain across the South, with flash flooding possible from Louisiana to western North Carolina.

Third storm

The third storm is still in the Pacific Ocean, but it will begin to bring rain to the West Coast on Wednesday morning, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The core of the storm will move into California on Wednesday night into Thursday morning with very heavy rain for the San Francisco Bay area.

The heaviest rain will begin to move into Los Angeles and Southern California starting Thursday morning and will last into Thursday evening.

A flood watch has been issued for California, including Los Angeles. Flash flooding, mudslides, landslides and rockslides are expected by Thursday and Friday.

The storm will cross the Rockies on Friday and will move into the Midwest with more heavy snow by Saturday morning.

By Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning, rain and snow will reach the East Coast. This storm looks more wet than white for the Interstate 95 corridor.

Bitter Cold

Ten states from Washington to Wisconsin are under cold weather alerts Tuesday morning, including an extreme cold warning from Montana to Minnesota — where wind chills could drop as low as 55 below zero through Thursday morning.

Record cold temperatures are forecast from Washington to Montana over the next few days.

The unseasonably cold weather will spill into the Northeast by early next week, with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees below normal.

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