New winter storm moves from South to Northeast with threat of floods, tornadoes, snow

(NEW YORK) — More rain is on the way as another winter storm takes aim at the southern and eastern United States.

As of early Friday, a flood watch remains in effect for five states — Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana and New York. Some of the flooding that’s impacting the Midwest and the Northeast is due to the heavy rain on top of snow melt and ice jams.

There are also numerous flood warnings issued from Texas to Ohio due to rainfall over the past few days as well as snow melt and ice jams.

A new storm system is forecast to move out of the Rocky Mountains on Friday and combine with moisture in the Gulf of Mexico to produce more flash flooding from Texas to Alabama. The highest threat of floods will be from Lake Charles, Louisiana; to New Orleans; Jackson, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama.

On Saturday, the system is expected to move into Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, where flash flooding will be possible. There could also be tornadoes and damaging winds for Alabama and the Florida panhandle, including major cities such as Birmingham, Alabama; Montgomery, Alabama; Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida.

The storm is forecast to move north and east on Saturday night into Sunday, with heavy rain possible for the Interstate 95 travel corridor and snow from Michigan to upstate New York and into the New England area. Rainfall could accumulate to 1 to 2 inches locally along the I-95 corridor and more than a half of a foot of snow could blanket areas from upstate New York into New England. A few inches of snowfall is also possible in Michigan and Ohio.

Over the weekend, an atmospheric river is expected to set up for the Pacific Northwest, aimed at Washington and Oregon. The system will be warm so any snowfall will be above major interstates and passes. Rainfall totals could reach close to a half of a foot in some places.

Meanwhile, more than two dozen states — from Texas, north to the Dakotas and east to New Jersey — are on alert for dense fog. Visibility was less than a quarter of a mile in some places early Friday, which could force airports to delay flights. The thick fog is expected to linger for some areas into the weekend as the mild weather remains.

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