The western portion of the United States continues to be impacted by heavy periods of rain and heavy mountain snow. Strong winds are also in today's forecast. The Breakfast Brief is published daily, Monday through Friday, at 5:00 a.m. Eastern time.

An extensive low-pressure system continues to impact the West, producing scattered strong thunderstorms along the entire coast. As heavy rains continue to fall under already well-saturated and burn-scarred areas, flash floods could occur across Southern California. Periods of heavy snow will also taper off on Thursday morning.

Stay weather-aware and avoid areas prone to mudslides. On Thursday morning, debris flows could occur near recent burn scars and flooding in many places. Winds will also contribute to some power outages and fallen trees and limbs. Travel will be dangerous during the morning commute. Wind gusts can exceed 30 mph across Southern California.

Along the San Francisco Bay area and San Joaquin Valley, total rainfall will range from 1 to 2.5 inches along the coast to a quarter to half an inch in the Valley through Thursday morning. The WeatherRadar shows the rain ending from west to east after 7 p.m., local time.

Looking more east, the big story will be over the Four Corner region, where very strong gusts will affect Arizona, New Mexico, and the Central Plains on Thursday. Gusts could exceed 45 mph. Dust could blow across Arizona and New Mexico, making driving conditions dangerous and limiting visibility.

There are west-to-east changes, with the chance for a few severe storms to impact the Deep South on Thursday afternoon. The same system that created severe weather across the Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana region on Wednesday night is now moving east. Some severe storms could even impact the Florida Panhandle on Thursday afternoon until about 8 p.m. The biggest threats will be hail and damaging wind gusts.

As a heads-up, there is a growing chance for a severe outbreak over the weekend, starting Friday across an extensive area from the southern Great Lakes through the Deep South and moving east during the weekend. We will be staffed following this system and will bring you updates throughout the weekend. Please pay close attention to the forecast our meteorologists write and have alerts turned on.

With severe weather threatening a large chunk of the nation starting Friday, today is a good day to make sure your alerts are turned on and that you are following us on social media to stay informed and make the safest decisions for you and your family. Read more here.