Temperatures plunge across the U.S. as California faces more stormy weather

As the U.S. prepares to ring in the new year, California is bracing for more flash flooding while the Midwest and Northeast are being hit with freezing temperatures and heavy snow.

Here’s a look at what weather across the country will look like on New Year’s Eve and into the rest of the week.

Evacuation warnings issued in California for floods

After areas of southern California were hit with heavy rains and flooding last week, more evacuation orders have been issued as another storm is set to hit Los Angeles County and other areas.

This week’s storm won’t be as extreme as the Christmas week flooding, but it’s coming as the state is already pushed to its limits. Because the soil will have little room to absorb more water, rainfall rates instead of totals will determine the problems, per CNN.

While southern California is the area of most concern, the rest of the state will also likely see rain.

Evacuation warnings have been issued in parts of Los Angeles County that were burned by wildfires in January. These areas are the most incapable of absorbing heavy rain, increasing the risk of debris flow and flash flooding. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has prepared crews and equipment ahead of the storm to respond to flooding and debris flow in both Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The heaviest rain is expected to hit southern California on Wednesday night and then the storm will spread north through the state into New Year’s Day. Southern California has a level 2 of 4 flooding rain threat both Wednesday and Thursday.

Coastal and Valley areas are expected to receive one to three inches of rain and the foothills and mountains could receive two to five inches of rain.

These evacuation warnings come just a week after devastating floods hit Los Angeles County on Christmas Eve. This was the wettest Christmas Eve on record at the Los Angeles Airport, per Fox Weather.

The greater Wrightwood area was devastated by Christmas Eve flooding and is once again threatened by mud and debris flow.

This first storm system will be followed by two more that could impact the state into early next week, per CNN.

A soggy Rose Parade expected on New Year’s Day

The timing of the heavy rain is bad news for the 137th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. This is expected to be the first wet Rose Parade since 2006, per CNN.

Heavy rains arriving on Wednesday night will affect paradegoers camping along the route. The downpour will continue into Thursday morning when the parade is set to take place.

Arctic air hits the eastern U.S., bringing snow along with it

On Tuesday, a surge of Arctic air caused the Great Lakes and Northeast to be hit with strong winds, heavy snow and frigid temperatures. This came one day after a bomb cyclone traveling across the Midwest left tens of thousands of people without power.

Blustery winds have added to the chill, carrying the low temperatures as far south as the Florida panhandle, per The Associated Press.

On Tuesday, over 115,000 customers were without power and about a third of those were in Michigan.

In western and upstate New York, some areas saw a foot or more of snow on Monday, and could reach a total of three feet this week. Strong winds in the region knocked down trees and wires.

The rush of Arctic air across the Great Lake will create flurries, bands of lake-effect snow and snow squalls from Michigan into the Northeast through the rest of the week, according to AccuWeather.

A double-jointed clipper storm will also hit the eastern part of the country bringing more snow. This will also cause a shift in winds resulting in changes to the lake-effect bands.

Major cities such as New York City and Chicago could see a couple rounds of snow into Wednesday night.

What the New Year’s weather will look like in Utah

In Utah, wet weather is expected Wednesday night as the state rings in the new year.

Valley rain and high elevation mountain snow are expected to hit into the night and become widespread by early Thursday. There is a chance of freezing rain in some of the colder valleys, bringing a potential of icy roads, per Fox 13.

Snow is expected in the mountains with two to eight inches in areas above 8,000 feet.