A brief series of storms Sunday through Thursday will bring torrential rain to many areas of the southern and eastern United States. Just enough cold air could move in to bring some snow to parts of the Midwest and Appalachians, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. At least there will be rain, drizzle and fog.

The first storm in a trio may bring some ice or a wintry mix on the front to northern New England Sunday through Monday and bring rain to most areas to the east.

A trailing storm (the second in the trio) will likely remain relatively weak and likely move north-northeast along the Appalachian Mountains Monday night into Tuesday night. Because this storm will remain weak, it will bring renewed rain to most areas, from the central Gulf Coast to portions of the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coast.

“If this middle storm in the series were stronger, it could draw cold air to the Atlantic coast. In that case, the third storm in the trio could bring snow as close as the Interstate 95 corridor.” AccuWeather senior long-range meteorologist Paul Pastelok warned. “However, that likely won’t happen this far east.”

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The beginnings of this third storm will begin to take shape in the northwest late this week. This Pacific storm will then track southeastward across the Interior West this weekend into early next week. There will be snow over some mountain ranges, including the Rocky Mountains and the Wasatch Range.

The storm could bring some snow to Denver Sunday night into Monday. It is possible that there will be delays in the subway area during morning rush hours.

The energy from the storm to the west will trigger the third storm to hit the east Wednesday through Thursday.

Since this will be the train of storms moving in from the south-central states, it could be the strongest of the group.

As Pastelok pointed out, it will be too warm for snow along the Atlantic coast, and conditions will become slightly more difficult from the Appalachians to parts of the Tennessee Valley, the Ohio Valley and the eastern regions of the Great Lakes.

Depending on the path and strength of the storm, just enough cold air could move into the Appalachians and areas a little further west over the Midwest to bring some snow to those areas.

A weak storm may not throw much precipitation into the cold air, so in this case it will be mostly rain. If the storm becomes quite strong, it could force an accumulating layer of snow primarily over parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys and the central Great Lakes.

Despite the possibility of snow in the Appalachian Mountains and further west with the third storm next week, many south-central states and much of the Atlantic Coast into the Appalachian Mountains are in for a flurry of rain. 2 to 4 inches of rain is expected to fall along the central Gulf Coast, with 1 to 2 inches of rain expected in the Southeast. Part of the Mid-Atlantic and New England could receive an inch of rain based on the pattern.

This will help alleviate the drought that peaked in late November and is slowly easing.

Due to long-term unusually dry to drought conditions, most streams and rivers will handle the upcoming rainfall without issue. However, the downpours can be heavy enough to cause urban flooding, especially where storm drains are blocked by leaves, snow or other debris.

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