The National Weather Service issued flash flood watches on Tuesday for 2 million people across central Mississippi to central Alabama, including Jackson and Birmingham, with rain coming to the already storm-hit areas.
Within the watches, 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible through Wednesday morning, which could exacerbate ongoing river flooding. Rounds of moderate to heavy rain are expected in the Southeast through Thursday.
On Tuesday morning, more than 130 river gauges from the Ohio River down to the Gulf Coast remained in flood stage, and more rain is on the way for these flood-ravaged areas.
Rain could wreak havoc on areas that are already dealing with elevated water levels. The Pearl River in Jackson, Mississippi, crested Monday at 36.67 feet, the third-highest in 100 years and the highest recorded level since 1983.
Jackson has become the center for some of the worst flooding due to the city's record-setting wet start to the year. With 19.90 inches of rain since Jan. 1, Jackson is having its wettest year-to-date on record.
Across the northern tier, a quick shot of rain and snow will hit parts of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and New England.
On Tuesday, light-to-moderate snowfall will streak across the interior Northeast and New England but will be over by the evening. The quick-moving nature of the storm will keep the snow totals down, with 2 to 4 inches possible with some isolated locations that could see 6-8 inches. For the I-95 corridor from Washington to Boston, the Tuesday morning commute will be dry but the evening commute will likely be wet. This could lead to some minor travel delays.
On the heels of this quick-moving storm, Arctic cold returns.
The eastern third of the country will be 5 to 10 degrees above average Tuesday, but that won’t last long. A cold area of Arctic high pressure is taking over the Plains Tuesday, where temperatures are plummeting to 10 to 20 degrees below average. This cold air will reach the Midwest on Wednesday and eventually the entire East Coast by Thursday.
