Storm to hit West Coast, warm Christmas expected for millions east of Rockies

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ABC News(NEW YORK) — As a southeastern storm moves out, a new western storm is expected to bring heavy rain, snow and the threat of more mudslides to the West. The Southeast storm brought over a foot of rain to southern Florida, and up to half a foot to coastal South Carolina. Flooding was reported from Charleston, South Carolina, to Miami. Some of the worst flooding was from Fort Lauderdale to Hollywood, where Florida’s daily record rainfall of 7.13 inches was broken. In downtown Charleston, a daily record rainfall of 3.62 inches was reported.On Tuesday morning, the storm is slowly beginning to pull away from the Southeast coast, but high tide Tuesday morning could bring more flooding to downtown Charleston. In the West, one storm departs but a new one is already forming that will be moving in just in time for Christmas. The first storm already brought more than 3 inches of rain to Southern California, producing mudslides and some flooding. In the mountains, up to 15 inches of snow fell.On Tuesday morning, the first western storm is moving inland and bringing heavy rain to Arizona with mountain snow from Flagstaff to Utah and Colorado. The second western storm is already forming in the Pacific Ocean and heading right for California. By Wednesday evening, the storm will arrive in coastal California with heavy rain. The storm will then continue into Thursday.Because this storm is much colder, snow elevations will be low, so places just outside of Los Angeles and San Francisco could see snow, including Interstate 5 around Grapevine. Rainfall with the next storm could be as high as 1-3 inches around Los Angeles and down to San Diego, with flash flooding and mudslides possible. In the mountains, snow could accumulate to several feet and travel will be treacherous.For most of the country, east of the Rockies, the big weather news will be the unusually warm weather, with temperatures in the 50s in Chicago and near 40 even up to Minnesota. Widespread temperatures in the 60s are expected from Kansas City to St. Louis and into Louisville, Kentucky, with warm temperatures in the 70s expected all along the Gulf Coast. Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.