Overview
- An atmospheric river is set to pound California from Tuesday night through Christmas with flood watches and warnings, heavy rain, strong winds, and mountain snow, with Sierra totals reaching several feet in higher elevations.
- Light, timing‑sensitive snow arrives in the Northeast on Tuesday, generally 1–3 inches with locally up to 2 inches in parts of suburban New York and Connecticut, creating slick morning commutes before a change to rain near the coast.
- The National Weather Service has issued Winter Weather Advisories in parts of the region, and local outlets flag messy travel from the Mid‑Atlantic through New England despite modest accumulations.
- A stronger system is being monitored for Friday in the Northeast, where small track shifts could mean mostly snow or a mix with ice and rain; forecasters note icing near a tenth of an inch is possible in some areas.
- South Florida faces hazardous marine conditions under a Small Craft Advisory with 20–30 kt northeast winds and 7–10 ft seas, while much of the central and southern U.S. trends 15–30°F above average with record‑challenging warmth into Christmas.