- In the South on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, another round of severe storms, including the chance for tornadoes, will plague the region.
- Along with the threat for severe storms comes the chance of flash floods from heavy rainfall, the Weather Service said.
- In New York City, New Year's Eve will be a mild night with temperatures in the upper 40s for the ball drop.
The last day of 2021 and the first day of 2022 will continue the string of recent wild weather across much of the nation: Severe thunderstorms, heavy snow, bitter cold and freakish warmth are all on the docket.
"From bitterly cold wind chills and travel-disruptive snowfall totals to severe storms and flash flooding, (the weather) will make for a treacherous start to 2022," said National Weather Service meteorologist Peter Mullinax in an online forecast.
In the South on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, another round of severe storms, including the chance for tornadoes, will plague the region. Cities most at risk on Friday include Dallas, Memphis and Nashville, while the threat area on Saturday includes cities such as Atlanta and Birmingham, Alabama.
Storms are likely to hold off during most of the daylight hours on Friday, AccuWeather said. However, on Friday evening, thunderstorms are forecast to erupt and rapidly turn severe from the Red River Valley of Texas and Oklahoma to the middle Mississippi and Ohio Valleys and progress eastward into the Tennessee Valley during the nighttime hours on New Year’s Eve, according to AccuWeather.
Along with the threat for severe storms comes the chance for flash floods from heavy rainfall, the Weather Service said. "Ample moisture and instability (are) also present to support excessive rainfall rates, making flash flooding a concern in the Middle Mississippi and Ohio/Tennessee River Valleys," Mullinax said.
Meanwhile, an "enormous" winter storm will mark the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, as it produces accumulating and travel-halting snowfall in at least 18 states from the Southwest to the Midwest, AccuWeather said. "This will be a massive storm in terms of the area of coverage ... 3-8 inches of snow in the central United States that includes Chicago and many other hubs," AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
In New York City, New Year's Eve will be a mild night with temperatures in the upper 40s for the ball drop, Weather Nation meteorologist Mace Michaels said. "Folks ringing in the New Year at Times Square will see a cloudy sky with a chance for showers," he said.
In the West, heavy snow will also be the main story in many areas. By Saturday morning, mountain ranges such as the Cascades, Sawtooth, Wasatch and both the central and southern Rockies can expect 1 to 2 feet of snow with totals exceeding 3 feet in the highest elevations of Utah and Colorado, the Weather Service said.
On Thursday, heavy snow halted travel on a large portion of the main east-west highway across Washington state and snarled traffic in the Seattle and Portland, Oregon, metro areas.
Intense cold will continue to make its presence felt across much of the north-central U.S., where wind chill readings will drop to as low as 50 degrees below zero in some areas, including Montana and North Dakota, over the next few days. "The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes," the National Weather Service in Montana warned.
And while the north-central U.S. shivers, ongoing warmth will lead to hundreds of record high temperatures across the southeastern U.S., the Weather Service said. Temperatures will soar into the spring-like 70s and 80s in the Southeast over the next few days.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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