Outdoor holiday prep cancelled today

Between the tornado threat and the winter storm warnings, no one along the East Coast is having quiet skies this Sunday. A dynamic storm system continues its eastward trek, canceling Christmas tree hunts and outdoor holiday prep work.

The storm system began coming together late Friday and Saturday, bringing severe weather and heavy rain into the Deep South and the Tennessee Valley. More than 100 filtered severe weather reports were sent to the National Weather Service on Saturday, with 23 of them being tornado reports.

Here’s what is going on with the East Coast on Sunday and Monday.

As much as a slight risk – level two out of five – has been issued for scattered severe storms in two different areas. Richmond and Virginia Beach, Va., Raleigh and Wilmington, N.C., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., are included in the first risk area while northwest Florida, east of Tallahassee and west of Jacksonville, is within the second. A tornado watch is also in effect.

A few tornado and damaging wind reports have already been submitted in southeast Alabama and the Florida Panhandle today. On the WeatherRadar, a long trail of storms can be viewed along the cold front passing through.

The Carolinas and southeast Virginia can also expect a tornado threat as the front approaches, especially in the afternoon and into the evening. Have at least three ways to receive a weather warning, especially after dark due to visibility decreasing drastically as the sun goes down.

On average, locations from the northern fringes of South Carolina through northeast Maine will get between 1 and 3 inches, but a pocket in New England, from Long Island to south-central Massachusetts, can expect to see rain amounts of more than 5 inches, with locally higher totals. A moderate risk for excessive rainfall has been issued.

Flood watches extend along much of the eastern side of the Appalachians to the coast, with flood warnings already peppered in due to rising creeks and rivers and flooding in poor drainage areas, especially those areas experiencing drought.

The front will continue east but many, especially in the Northeast, won’t see clear skies until after Monday.

On the backend of the front, temperatures will be 20 degrees colder than today’s highs, initiating snowfall for many. The changeover to snow will happen this afternoon around sunset, according to the WeatherRadar. Winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings paint the Appalachian and interior Northeast maps.

The dramatic temperature shift and tightening of the low pressure driving the storm system will also kick wind gusts up this afternoon through Monday. The strongest gusts will be felt by Monday morning, with gusts along the New England coast reaching the 50 to 60 mph range, and near 70 mph along coastal Maine late Monday morning. Monitor them on the WindRadar.