Breakfast brief: rain, snow swamp West Coast

The atmospheric river that started over the weekend will continue today bringing heavy rain and mountain snow to parts of the West Coast. Spring fever across the southern U.S. while winter remains locked across parts of the northern Rockies. The Breakfast Brief is published daily, Monday through Friday, at 5:00 a.m., Eastern time.

The big story Tuesday is downpours hitting northern and central California, including the San Francisco Bay area and Sacramento. These downpours, tracked on WeatherRadar, could produce flooding in poor drainage areas and mudslides in burn areas.

Across northern California, southern Oregon, the northern Sierra and southern Cascade, heavy snow will cause major travel disruptions. Several feet of snow will be a major headache.

It will be a quiet Tuesday for the rest of the U.S. Spring fever will be in full effect throughout the southern U.S. The TemperatureRadar shows highs in the 80s in the Southwest, including Phoenix, while Texas, the Gulf Coast, Florida and the South climbs into the 70s. The WeatherRadar shows a few showers along the Gulf Coast, otherwise it will be sunny across hte southern U.S..

The Rockies, Mississippi and Ohio valleys and the Mid-Atlantic, will be in the 50s and 60s. The northern U.S., will remain locked in winter. The Northeast and Great Lakes will barely crack the 30s while teens will linger across the Dakotas and the northern Rockies.

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