Storms to bring rain, colder air and mountain snow across parts of the US
By Karina Tsui and Robert Shackelford, CNN
(CNN) — A series of storms is set to move across the US this week, and some of them could help bring much needed relief to areas experiencing drought.
Ongoing storms across the Southern Plains –– a region consisting of Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas –– are expected to shift north throughout the day on Monday, bringing widespread rainfall across the Midwest and the Central Plains.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of western and central Oklahoma and parts of northern Texas until 10:00 a.m. Monday. Over 2 million people are under this tornado watch, including residents of Oklahoma City.
There have been well over 1,700 tornado reports this year, far above the year-to-date average of 1,274.
The National Weather Service has also issued flood watches across parts of Texas and Oklahoma through the day on Monday and into Louisiana beginning Monday evening.
Rainfall of 1 to 4 inches is expected across the Plains, while the New Orleans area could see 3 to 5 inches with isolated chances of totals exceeding 5 inches.
Cities including Oklahoma City experienced one of their driest Octobers on record. However, in a climate with more extreme weather events, November has become one of the wettest on record for the city.
Almost 7 inches of rainfall has been recorded in Oklahoma City this month, making it the fourth wettest November on record with 12 more days left until December.
Storm heading eastward
While cities including Atlanta and Memphis could see rainfall by midweek, cities across the Northeast, including New York, Washington, Philadelphia and Boston, will have to wait until the end of the week for their chance of precipitation.
Many of these cities are coming off some of their driest Octobers and are in desperate need of rain.
And in the West
A separate series of storms is also set to affect the West, bringing rounds of valley rainfall and heavy mountain snowfall.
Winter weather alerts are in place for seven Western states – Washington, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico – while up to a foot of snow is expected across the Cascades and the northern Rockies.
The strongest storm across the West is set to begin Tuesday, where heavy rainfall and mountain snowfall are expected. Snowfall could reach 2 to 3 feet in parts of the Cascades between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Parts of Oregon, Washington and northern California will also experience heavy lower-elevation rainfall. From Tuesday night through Saturday, these states could see 6 to 14 inches of rain, with isolated totals around the King Range potentially reaching 21 inches.
These rains could cause rivers to rapidly rise and could also cause flash flooding and mudslides.
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