Soaking conditions are forecast for the West during the weekend that will close out 2005. The weather may not spare even the Rose Bowl parade in California, reports USA Today. Elsewhere in the country, mild to wet weather is expected to usher in the New Year.

The recent storms in the West have put much strain on a Los Angeles berm built to protect waterfront homes and business from flooding and more rains in the forecast, says the report. But the opposite will be true in the southern plains where dry, warm winds have continued to fan wildfires.

"It's too bad we can't get some of this moisture down to Oklahoma and Texas," said a National Weather Service spokesman. Nearly 200 homes were destroyed and four people killed in fires that charred 20,000 acres in the two states.

Snow is predicted in New York and much of the Northeast as well as in parts of the Midwest. Elsewhere in the eastern half, showers were expected by Saturday.