A slight rise in temperatures puts 37 million Americans under a weather alert this week for melting ice, rain and flooding. According to the National Weather Service (NWS):
Heavy rain/freezing rain over parts of the southern Plains, Lower/Middle Mississippi Valley; Moderate rain/freezing rain over parts of the Great Lakes/northern Ohio Valley... There is a slight risk of excessive rainfall in parts of Northern California, Southern California and the western Gulf Coast/Lower Mississippi Valley.
According to the NWS, “the wave of precipitation will continue all week.” The risk of excessive rainfall and flooding is set at level 2 of 4 for East Texas (Monday), Lower Mississippi River Valley (Tuesday), Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee (Wednesday), Mississippi Gulf Coast, Alabama and Tennessee (Thursday to Friday).
WPC's Short Range Public Discussion by Veronica Silveri on Scribd
"Constant warming" and deaths from storms
Although the NWS claimed that there won't be any more shifts in Arctic air, they are warning Americans that "steady warming" will begin and snowfall will continue to hit some parts of the country:
Heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Monday and higher elevation snow across the West; Moderate to heavy snowfall over Great Lakes on Tuesday... Moderate to heavy snowfall over Great Lakes on Tuesday.
Six winter storms hit different parts of the country this month, according to a count by The Weather Channel. These were followed by a blast of cold air resulting in freezing temperatures in the west.
The low temperatures have led to several dozen deaths in the country. NBC News estimates the number to be around 60 while CBS News puts the number closer to 90. About 100 million Americans were under a wind chill alert from Florida to Montana.
