Flood waters surround an area of low-lying woodlands in Paducah, Kentucky, on Saturday, December 21. Continuous rainfall that began Friday totaled 4 to 5 inches, leading to flooded roads and poor driving conditions during the last holiday shopping weekend
The weekend before Christmas, Mother Nature is gifting -- or, rather, clobbering -- the United States with a little bit of everything. Ice storms, snow, flooding, thunderstorms, tornadoes and record-setting warmth are all in store, and with this maddening mix comes a massive headache for more than 94 million expected holiday travelers.
Unless you're on the West Coast, odds are the weather outside is frightful and complex. To make sense of it all, let us take you on a national tour.
Southeast: Thunderstorms, tornadoes and torrential downpoursWhile ice storms and snow wreak havoc in parts of the country, the bigger story that's brewing is about rain and a severe storm event, says CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray.
Harsh weather continued Saturday evening, with a risk of thunderstorms in Louisiana, Mississippi, parts of Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee.
Isolated storms that form ahead of these bigger storms could become supercells, which means the possibility of tornadoes. One tornado hit Friday night in Mississippi.
By midday Saturday, there were two tornado watches in effect. Saturday night, the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, said damage in that area -- four semi trucks overturned, five houses heavily damaged and 15 others with minor damage -- was likely due to a tornado.
Saturday night, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported one death in Coahoma County, along the Mississippi River. There were no further details.
