Storms threaten severe weather across the US
A storm moving across the Northeast was set to bring heavy rain and snow to New England on Friday as a blast of cold air triggered freeze warnings in the South and the central U.S. braced for weekend storms.
Federal forecasters say the system in the Northeast will bring periods of torrential rain to much of New England, especially Maine, as several more inches of snow blanket the mountains in New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. The storm will move out of the region by Friday night, according to the National Weather Service.
Meteorologists issued high wind advisories across much of the country, as strong gusts fueled wildfires that broke out this week in Florida, North Carolina and Texas, among other states. The winds also impacted travel, delaying departures at New York City's LaGuardia Airport by over an hour, according to the Federal Aviation Authority.
Despite Friday being the first full day of spring, cold air moving over the eastern U.S. has set off freeze and frost warnings throughout the South, including parts of the Florida Panhandle, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Across much of the region, people woke up to temperatures in the 30s.
Meanwhile, forecasters are warning about a storm system that will unleash flooding rain, hail, winds up to 70 mph and possible tornadoes across the central U.S. this weekend.
The storms moving and forming across the country arrived just days after a colossal system barreled across the U.S., killing at least 42 people.
Storms eye the central US
The severe weather throughout the central U.S. was expected to start up Saturday, with the worst conditions expected in an area from eastern Kansas to Missouri and far western Illinois, according to AccuWeather.
Fueled by warm, humid air moving in from the Gulf, the severe weather threat will expand farther east and south on Sunday over the Mississippi Valley. Forecasters warned people in states including Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Oklahoma and Missouri to keep up with weather updates from officials.
At the start of next week, the risk of severe weather "may extend into parts of the southern East Coast and northeast Gulf region," AccuWeather said.
Red flag warnings abound; wildfires rage in North Carolina, Florida
Wildfires burning on the East Coast caused closures and evacuations as officials on Friday issued red flag warnings amid a combination of high winds, low humidity and dry conditions.
In North Carolina, three wildfires scorched over 600 acres of land in Polk County, southeast of Asheville, triggering evacuation orders and a statewide ban on all open burning.
In South Florida, firefighters were still battling a large blaze that closed major roads to the Florida Keys and blanketed parts of southeast Miami-Dade County in smoke. Red flag warnings on Friday stretched across much of the Sunshine State, from Orlando and the Space Coast to the city of Stuart.
Elsewhere, warnings of critical fire conditions were active from north-central Texas to southern Illinois and were prevalent in states such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico and Nebraska.
Storm blankets Pacific Northwest in snow
Parts of the Northwest, from Oregon and Washington to Montana and Colorado, were under winter weather advisories, with several inches of snow and high winds forecast for the region's mountains.
The weather service office in Seattle warned of an additional half foot of snow falling at high elevations from Friday into Saturday, while forecasters in Great Falls, Montana, said up to a foot of snow could fall over the same period.
Meteorologists warned that high winds, heavy snow and ice will make mountain roads treacherous and urged drivers to use extreme caution.