Rain and severe storms to focus on southern US as NASCAR season opener nears; plus, big storms heading for the West

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Well, if you happen to be a NASCAR fan, you are undoubtedly excited about kicking off

the new season with the annual running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

But a storm traveling eastward from Northern Texas to the Carolinas through Sunday evening

could possibly bring some rain to Florida and may impact the race.

Now, it's going to be a close call, but there is the potential for severe weather and some

of those locations in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas.

Now, more than a dozen states from the plains to the Gulf and the South Atlantic coasts

will receive a much-needed soaking from this particular storm.

Soil conditions vary dramatically from county to county across the million square mile zone

of the South Central and South Eastern U.S.

Some areas have adequate soil moisture, but some places are an exceptional drought, with

rivers down to nearly a trickle.

Much of the zone will pick up a half-inch to an inch of rain from the storm, which will

not solve the rainfall deficit, but some areas may receive two to four inches of rain,

especially where thunderstorms occur.

It is in these pockets where flash, urban, and poor drainage area flooding could occur.

The AccuWeather local storm max rainfall for this event is six inches.

If you have travel plans with a flight out of Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, or Charlotte,

there is the possibility of flight delays or cancellations in those cities.

On Saturday, thunderstorms will form west of Interstate 35 in Texas.

Then locally become severe as they move eastward across the I-35 corridor and continue toward

near I-55 in Louisiana and Mississippi later Saturday night.

On Sunday and Sunday evening, some risk of severe thunderstorms will continue to advance

to the east from eastern Mississippi and south-eastern Louisiana through southern Alabama,

northern Florida, southern Georgia, and the southern tip of South Carolina.

While torrential downpours and damaging wind gusts will pose the greatest threat from

the severe weather this weekend, a handful of the strongest thunderstorms may produce

a tornado.

And as NASCAR fans had to Daytona beach this weekend, the majority of the weekend

will be dry, but as the front approaches from the Northwest later Sunday and Sunday

evening, the chance of downpours with lightning will increase.

A stray shower cannot be ruled out Sunday morning, with the driest part of the day potentially

in the middle when it could be free of rain for a six to eight hour stretch, any lengthy

cautions or red flags could increase the chance of the race being cut short by rain.

For those heading to the theme parks in central Florida, the stretch from later Sunday afternoon

to Monday will bring the highest chance of downpours during the extended holiday weekend

for some.

The downpours will be produced by the storm's trailing cold front.

Highs will be in the 70s each day at Daytona and near 80 near Orlando from Friday to Sunday

and in the 70s for both locations Monday.

During our focus to the west coast now, multiple storms will spin southward along the Pacific

coast next week.

Each storm will bring abundant rain and mountain snow and cause significant impacts on travel

and the potential for flooding and mudslides.

Parts of the west are in desperate need of moisture though.

A several day break will follow this week's storm along the Pacific coast as its snow

and rain shift eastward, eventually affecting the south central and south eastern regions

of the nation with drenching rain and thunderstorms.

A storm over the Gulf of Alaska will drop southward to be just off the northwest coast late

this week.

Then over the weekend, the storm will begin to pivot eastward and rain will break out

over parts of the Washington and Oregon coasts.

On Sunday, drenching rain is likely to spin into coastal areas of northern and central

California.

From there, low elevation rain and mountain snow will expand southward and eastward

across California, then into the interior west.

Multiple rounds of rain and mountains snow are likely from this storm in the west as

it hovers along the California coast during the first half of the week before shifting

inland.

Local commuters, cross-country shippers and airline passengers should expect travel delays

due to the likelihood of flash flooding, poor visibility and heavy snow over the passes,

especially over Donner Pass along Interstate 80.

Another storm may drop southward along the Pacific coast in its wake later next week,

and may focus more on Washington and Oregon.

Much of the interior west is in desperate need of storms with ample moisture, the developing

pattern through the third week of February should help.

That's all for now.

You can find more regional forecasts and science-based articles at AccuWeather.com and for your local

forecast at your fingertips, download the AccuWeather app.

Enjoy the rest of your day, be safe, I'll be back tomorrow with more from AccuWeather.