Winter storm to wallop U.S. this week with heavy rain, blizzards and threat of tornadoes and wildfires

Winter isn’t done with us just yet.

A powerful storm system is expected to produce severe weather for millions of Americans from coast to coast this week, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to California, heavy snow to the Rockies, blizzard conditions to the Plains, thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes to the Midwest and Southeast and an elevated risk of wildfires to the Southwest.

“This is a powerful storm that will have dangerous and disruptive impacts felt across the country,” warned Tom Kines, AccuWeather senior meteorologist. “The West Coast will be hammered with rain and mountain snow. Gusty winds and very dry conditions will create a dangerous fire risk across the Southwest. The risk of severe thunderstorms will increase by the end of the week, as this storm advances eastward.”

Timing and impacts

Wednesday: According to the National Weather Service’s latest forecast, the storm system will begin with an atmospheric river bringing heavy rain to California on Wednesday, with rainfall rates of up to half an inch per hour in some areas.

“This could cause flash flooding, including shallow debris flows across sensitive burn scars or isolated rockslides, as well as hazardous travel,” the weather service said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department issued evacuation warnings and orders for residents in some areas scorched by the recent wildfires "due to high mudslide and debris flow risk." And parts of several major roads, including the Pacific Coast Highway, were shut down in advance of the storm.

Wednesday afternoon: The system will roll into the Sierra Nevada on Wednesday afternoon, dumping up to 3 feet of snow in the upper elevations with winds gusting up to 70 mph — a combination that could produce whiteout conditions and “dangerous to potentially impossible travel conditions” in some of the mountain passes.

Thursday-Friday: The storm will then move on toward the central and Southern U.S. on Thursday and Friday, with blizzard conditions likely in parts of the Plains and severe thunderstorms in the Midwest and Southeast. Tornadoes, large hail, flooding and widespread damaging wind gusts are possible from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf Coast, forecasters say.

Saturday-Sunday: The system will continue to track east, with severe thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes in the Southeast and snow, ice, rain and blizzard conditions in parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Sunday.

Critical fire weather conditions in the Southwest

High winds combined with low humidity and dry conditions on the back side of the storm will create a risk for wildfires across the Southwest.

The NWS has issued red flag warnings in parts of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas, with critical fire conditions expected through Tuesday night.

“This is a dangerous combination of gusty winds in areas with low humidity levels and dry brush,” Kines said. “Any fires that spark could spread rapidly and be extremely difficult to contain. Fires could quickly pose an extreme risk to lives, property and livestock in these conditions. People should also be prepared for dust storms, power outages and travel disruptions as these winds blow through the region.”

Wild winter weather

The storm is the latest in a series of systems to bring extreme weather to parts of the U.S. this winter.

On Monday, a possible tornado touched down near Orlando, Fla., destroying several homes and hitting a local TV station in the middle of a live weather forecast.

WOFL-TV meteorologist Brooks Garner was on the air when he realized and told everyone in the studio to take cover.

"Get to your safe space under your desk. We're catching debris right now on the roof," Garner said. "?This is a tornado."

There was minimal damage to the building, and there were no reports of injuries.

A preliminary survey from the weather service indicated the tornado briefly reached EF-2 strength, with winds estimated at up to 115 mph.

"?I've been doing this for a very long time,” Garner told viewers after the storm passed. “That's the first time a tornado has hit me while I'm doing the weather.”