Cross-Country Storm to Bring Heavy Rain, Snow and Flood Risk to 35 States
A powerful cross-country storm system forecast on 29 October 2026 was set to bring heavy rain, flooding and mountain snow to more than 35 states through the following week.
The cross-country storm forecast on 29 October 2026 warned that a powerful system would bring heavy rain, flooding, severe thunderstorms and high-elevation snow to more than 35 states through the following week. Forecasters described an El Niño pattern driving a strong storm from the Pacific across the Southwest and then eastward, with moisture drawn from the subtropical Pacific. The Southwest faced the first and heaviest impacts, with a major flood event expected in the Four Corners region and a level three out of four flash flood risk on Sunday. Colorado’s San Juan Mountains were forecast to receive another round of intense rain that would turn to heavy snow on Sunday night, with totals of 12 to 18 inches by Monday in the highest terrain.
In the Southwest, the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs was forecast to rise beyond its all-time record of 17.8 feet, possibly cresting as high as 19.71 feet, according to the National Weather Service. Pagosa Springs had already seen more than five inches of rain in an earlier round of storms, and the river had reached major flood stage on 23 October. Forecasters said the new storm would fall on ground already soaked by a wet autumn, raising the risk of flash flooding, road closures and river flooding across Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The Weather Prediction Center called the system a multi-day heavy-rain threat, with mountain snow in the Cascades and northern Rockies and showers and thunderstorms spreading from the Mississippi Valley toward the Northeast as the week went on.
Cross-country storm spreads rain and snow nationwide
The storm was not limited to the West. Forecasters said severe weather, heavy rain and high-elevation snow would spread across the central and eastern United States as the system moved east, with more than 35 states seeing some impact. In the Sierra Nevada, winter weather advisories were issued for elevations above 7,000 feet around Lake Tahoe and above 8,000 feet in Mono County, with two to five inches of snow possible at resort level and up to nine inches on the highest peaks, and up to 12 inches in the highest parts of Mono County. Winds were forecast to gust to 45 or 50 miles per hour in the mountains, and the National Weather Service in Reno advised travellers to delay or reconsider travel through the Sierra during the heaviest snow late on Saturday night.
Source: Fox Weather
