Deadly Storms in Southern U.S. Push Into the Northeast Through Monday

A powerful storm system that already generated deadly tornadoes is going to creep through the Northeast to bring the weekend to a close and to kick off the new work week in the Northeast. The storm will chug along and increase the chances of travel delays ahead of the New Year's holiday for areas as far as the mid-Atlantic to the south and New England to the north. Here are the details that you need to know about if you live on the East Coast.

Storm System Responsible for Deadly Tornadic Outbreak

The same weather maker that unleashed deadly tornadoes in the south-central U.S. is going to pivot into the northeastern U.S. through Monday, bringing rain, wind, and fog to the region. Several tornadoes spun up across the southern U.S. on Saturday, including a deadly funnel that struck the community of Liverpool, Texas.

At least two deaths have been confirmed as a result of the tornadoes that came from a severe weather outbreak throughout Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The storms came to life early Saturday afternoon and lingered through the overnight hours.

A series of long-tracked storms were responsible for producing the tornadoes. The first twister touched down between Liverpool and Hillcrest Village, killing one and injuring four more people. This storm cell then pushed to the east, moving through Trinity Bay and near Port Arthur. The same storm eventually made it to the area just south of Lake Charles, Louisiana as it moved nearly parallel to the heavily traveled Interstate 10 corridor late Saturday afternoon.

The state of Mississippi was also under the gun for the severe weather on Saturday. Several rounds of storms reportedly caused damage throughout the evening hours. One tornado destroyed homes and trees in the community of McCall Creek, located approximately 60 miles southwest of Jackson.

An 18-year-old died in Natchez, Mississippi after a tree came down on his home. Two other people were injured as part of this storm cell.

Widespread power outages spread over the region as the storms continued to track to the east. By late Saturday, there were over 68,000 outages reported in Mississippi, 40,000 in Alabama, and 22,000 in the dark in Louisiana. Texas was dealing with a mere 13,000 outages by the time that the storms abated.

Weather Maker Moves to the Southeastern U.S.

The southeastern corner of the U.S. was in the crosshairs of this weather maker by Sunday. Millions of Americans are under tornado watches as the weekend wraps up.

While the Southeast is expected to bear the worst of the impacts, the far-reaching system will also affect parts of the Ohio Valley, the central Appalachians, and the lower mid-atlantic before moving into the northern Appalachians, the upper mid-Atlantic and New England by Sunday night and into Monday.

In addition to delivering heavy rain, the system will also whip up the winds. Motorists and air travelers will be contending with ponding on the roadways, poor visibility, and delays at major airport hubs through Monday.

Thunderstorms may reach as far north as southern New England and northern Pennsylvania. New York City may also see a few lightning strikes out of this system. The heaviest of the rain will wrap by late Sunday in the zone from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

The bulk of the moisture will hit Philadelphia and New York City into early Monday. This could translate to a soggy morning commute for some of the most populated cities along the Interstate 95 corridor.

The rain will take until Monday to reach Boston. Some lingering rain showers could impact the Monday evening commute in this part of New England. Boston is forecast to pick up about a half of an inch of rain out of this system on Monday alone. It will be a gusty day with winds out of the south-southwest at 15 to 25 mph. The saving grace for the metro area will be unseasonably warm temperatures, expected to hover in the mid 50s for highs on Monday before falling to the 40-degree mark overnight.

Colder Air in Store for Later in the Week

The mild air that has been circulating over much of the East Coast will depart in the days ahead. However, the long-range forecast is calling for the stormy weather pattern to remain in place.

A trailing system will raise the chances of more snow and rain for the Northeast on Tuesday and Wednesday. This system is likely to result in a soggy New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square in New York City on Tuesday night.

A surge of Arctic air coming down from Canada will mean that the rain that has been falling lately will change to snow and ice as the month of January progresses. Widespread snow is likely at times for parts of the Midwest, into the Appalachians, and up and down the Interstate 95 corridor.

This influx of significantly chillier temperatures will also increase the threat of damaging freeze events for the southeastern U.S. and the south-central portions of the country in January.

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