Wild Weather Nationwide Over The Next Several Days

A guy had to be rescued from this North Carolina truck
Monday. He's OK

Springtime weather can be volatile across much of the United States and this week, and possibly next are proving that point.

Flooding, tornadoes, wind, severe weather and snowstorms are all on the agenda for varying parts of the nation over the next several days. Starting now.

Let's break it down:

FLOODING: 

That coastal storm has caused widespread flooding in the Carolinas since yesterday. Several water rescues were reported in eastern Tennessee and in the Carolinas. Downtown Charleston, South Carolina was under water and several people had to be rescued from cars there.

The flooding continued this morning, with widespread flooding noted in North Carolina, where some places have received more than six inches of rain.

The big city of Raleigh, North Carolina was especially in trouble with flooding this morning. The National Weather Service there declared a flash flood emergency and a "particularly dangerous situation." You usually don't get such strong wording from the NWS, so you know things are bad in that region.

The rain is spreading up the coast toward New England, but flooding further north should not be nearly as extensive as it was in the Carolinas.  Still, the combination of high tides, strong east winds and heavy rains could cause some high water issues along the coast all the way into New England.

Later in the week, we're going to have to watch parts of the mid-Mississippi river valley, especially around Arkansas and Missouri for more possible big time flooding. The high water there will be part of a severe weather outbreak, which is in the next secton.

TORNADO OUTBREAK?

What could be the most extensive tornado and severe weather outbreak of the season looks like a real possibility in the southern Plains, especially around Friday.

An initial round of severe weather, including possible tornadoes looks to get going Wednesday in through Arkansas, Missouri and surrounding states.

That will only be a warm-up for Friday when a stronger storm sets the stage for possible strong and numerous tornadoes Friday and maybe Saturday.

Forecasts could change a bit but right now the Friday target area seems like it will be centered in and around Oklahoma with activity spreading east and south by Saturday. Again, more details will emerge with this forecast, but people in this area ought to be ready for some very bad weather at the end of the week.

DID SOMEONE SAY SNOW?

On the colder northwest side of the storm that is expected to cause all that severe weather I've been chattering about, it looks like a snowstorm might be looming Friday and Saturday for Colorado and Wyoming, and maybe some surrounding areas.

This snowstorm, if it materializes, could hit Denver pretty hard, and other Colorado cities such as Boulder, Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

That'll be a harsh slap in the face after a mild spring out there.

It's possible the snow could spread into the northern Plains and all the way to Minnesota after Friday.

Before that even happens, there's a winter storm watch out for the Arrowhead area of Minnesota, including the Duluth area, for mixed precipitation tonight, Wednesday and into Thursday morning.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR US?

So far, at least, it doesn't look like all this wild weather is going to really screw us up too badly here in Vermont.

That coastal storm will make us wet and damp later today and tonight, especially over the southeastern half of Vermont.

The storminess in the Plains is going to pump some nice warm air up our way. It'll peak Thursday with highs in the lows 70s to around 80. It'll remain fairly mild through the weekend.

Showers are a risk, though, especially later Sunday.

It looks like a strong cold front Monday could bring heavy bursts of rain, gusty winds and maybe some thunderstorms to Vermont, so stay tuned!