U.S. braces for winter storm across country, leaving ice and flooding

Jan. 30 (UPI) -- From the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast, the United States will be hit with a wintery storm system that could usher in flooding in the South and snow in the North.

The National Weather Service said on Monday frigid temperatures will cover the central and western United States.

"Heavy rain and scattered flash floods are possible across eastern Texas and lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday," NWS said. "A strong arctic cold front has progressed through the Great Plains and will set the stage for an impactful winter weather event throughout the southern Plains and Mid-South."

About 865 domestic flights were canceled Monday because of weather conditions, according to the flight-tracking group FlightAware.com.

The NWS said as the precipitation pushes north into the cold airmass in place at the surface over the next several days, freezing rain and sleet is likely to be the main precipitation type beginning as early as this morning in the form of freezing drizzle.

The weather service said total freezing rain amounts could become significant across parts of central Texas, southwest Oklahoma, central Arkansas, and western Tennessee, where over a quarter inch of ice is forecast.

Lake effect snow is also likely downwind in the Great Lakes with the heaviest amounts of totaling more than six inches off Lake Superior and Lake Erie. Light snow will be possible throughout the interior Northeast and Mid-Atlantic as a cold front pushes through by Tuesday.

Cold weather is expected to create icy conditions in the southern Plains and the Ohio Valley, according to AccuWeather. The weather is expected to start in the Rocky Mountain region and flow to the eastern seaboard.

"A wave of cold air pushing southward across the center of the country will make wintry precipitation possible from Texas to Kentucky and Tennessee," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger.