What will the weather be like on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day?
By Zoe Sottile, CNN
The year 2022 is finally coming to a close — but not before some rainy weather arrives on both the West and East coasts.
Here’s what you can expect from the weather on the last day of 2022 and the first day of 2023.
The East Coast will have a rainy New Year’s Eve
Americans along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida, will likely have a damp New Year’s Eve, with intermittent showers throughout the day. Heavier rain is forecast further south in Georgia and Florida than in New England.
In New york City, the heaviest rainfall is expected between 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 a.m. Sunday. Temperatures will hover around 50 through most of the afternoon into Sunday.
In Buffalo, New York, where a historic blizzard left 39 people dead, rain is also expected. The rain and melting snow have also sparked flood concerns. Additional rain in the area is expected early next week.
Luckily, the rainy weather likely won’t continue onto New Year’s Day. Sunday is forecast to be cloudy but not as rainy as Saturday. New Year’s morning might see record high minimum temperatures from Washington D.C. into Boston and over the southwest, according to a Friday update from the National Weather Service.
Heavy rain and ‘shallow’ landslides will hit Northern California
Just like New Yorkers, Californians can also anticipate a rainy New Year’s Eve. A strong storm will begin bringing widespread heavy rain to the West Coast Friday through Saturday, creating a flood threat for much of Northern and Central California.
Over the holiday weekend, Californians will also witness an “atmospheric river,” a long, narrow region in the atmosphere that can transport moisture thousands of miles, like a fire hose in the sky. This heavy rainfall will slide southward to Southern California on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, accompanied by gusty winds moving at 30 to 50 mph.
“We now expect shallow landslides to be likely with the heavy rain coming New Year’s Eve,” said the National Weather Service office in San Francisco.
A flood watch for more than 16 million California residents, including the entire Bay Area and Central Valley, is in effect though Saturday night. The flooding is most likely in rivers, creeks, streams and other flood-prone areas, according to the National Weather Service office in Sacramento. Rain could ease Saturday evening before the calendar turns to 2023.
Widespread rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are expected in Northern and Central California, but locally higher amounts of 5 to 7 inches are also possible for the foothills.
Northern California and the Central California coast have already received 2 to 4 inches of rain in the last week. The cumulative effect of multiple Pacific storm systems laden with moisture from a potent atmospheric river will make impacts such as flash floods and landslides more likely.
Southern California is also expecting strong wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph on New Year’s Day in addition to rain.
Heavy snow will fall in the mountains
Whereas the coasts will see a rainy New Year’s Eve, the western mountains from the Sierra Nevada to the Rockies can count on snow for the new year. The snow follows several days of heavy and dangerous snowfall.
An eastbound stretch of Interstate-70 in Colorado reopened Thursday after a nine-hour closure left drivers stranded amid bouts of heavy mountain snow, widespread rain and gusty winds.
Severe weather that caused trees to fall on passing vehicles left five people dead in Oregon on Tuesday, including a 4-year-old girl, state police said.
Wind gusts in the state exceeded 100 mph in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.
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CNN’s Jay Croft, Monica Garrett and Allision Chinchar contributed to this report.
