Heavy rain and flooding are expected in the southeast United States on Monday, as millions of Americans embark on holiday travel two days before Christmas. A powerful storm was moving from the deep South toward the Atlantic coast on Sunday night and was forecast to drop as much as six inches of rain on parts of Georgia and South Carolina through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Many counties in those two states were under flash flood warnings, including the coastal areas. The South Carolina Department of Transportation warned drivers across the state to beware of flooded streets and downed trees through Monday and to use "extreme caution."
West coast system
Meanwhile, another system was moving across southern California, bringing widespread rain to the region as well as snow in elevated areas. The National Weather Service warned that mountain travel could be dangerous in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.
The Midwest, however, was expecting warmer than average temperatures and dry weather as Christmas week began. In Chicago, for instance, the forecast for Monday called for temperatures near 50 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly 20 degrees above normal.
Heavy financial loss in 2018
Last year, 14 weather and climate disasters caused US financial loss that exceeded $1 billion each throughout the nation. According to NOAA, in 2018, there were 247 known fatalities associated with these events, and their total costs were estimated to be about $91 billion. Both the number of events and their cumulative cost ranked fourth highest since records began in 1980.
Three events each exceeded $20 billion in damages: Hurricanes Florence and Michael caused $24 billion and $25 billion in damages in September and October, respectively, and a combination of western wildfires in summer and fall caused $24 billion in losses. This was the second consecutive year in which a new record was set for national losses due to western wildfires.
(With additional inputs)
