Spring temperatures climb, flooding fears from Nevada to Midwest: Tuesday weather forecast

Marina Pitofsky and Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
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Temperatures are expected to climb this week across much of the country.

In a stretch of the United States from Texas to Maine, warmer temperatures are forecast to surge as much as 20 degrees above historical averages, according to AccuWeather.

Warmer air is starting in the Plains, with temperatures on Tuesday potentially surpassing 80 degrees in Omaha, Nebraska.

But the warm weather is prompting concerns for some areas, with melting snow bringing flooding warnings and other advisories from Nevada to the Midwest.

And while much of the country will get a taste of sunshine, more rainfall is expected to impact parts of Florida and the Gulf Coast. But contrary to earlier concerns, a tropical system is not likely to develop in the Gulf, forecasters now say.

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Flooding concerns dot country from Nevada to Midwest

Flood watches and other warnings spread in patches across the country on Tuesday, prompted by spring weather bringing warmer temperatures and melting snow.

A flood watch is in effect in parts of northern Nevada until Tuesday evening, with runoff potentially causing rivers, streams and other low-lying areas to flood, the National Weather Service warned. People who live in areas prone to flooding should “be prepared to take action should flooding develop,” according to the weather service.

Warmer temperatures are also expected to “accelerate the melting of snowpack in low elevations and even some foothills across western and central Wyoming through the middle of this week,” the weather service in Riverton, Wyoming, warned. Officials said area residents may want to move deep snow away from building foundations, move livestock out of low lying areas and more.

In Minnesota and Wisconsin, a flood advisory is in effect until Thursday afternoon, with officials warning that a “near record amount of water stored in the snowpack will be released” in the areas.

Rainfall for Florida and Gulf Coast but tropical system not likely

Rainfall is possible in Florida and swaths of the Gulf Coast this week, AccuWeather meteorologists said, with drenching thunderstorms forecast from Miami to New Orleans in the coming days.

Showers and thunderstorms are possible over parts of the western and central Gulf Coast, and Florida’s peninsula, through Wednesday evening, the weather service warned.

Last week, AccuWeather meteorologists believed that a tropical depression or tropical storm might form in the Gulf this week, but the chances of a tropical or subtropical system spinning up have diminished.

"This week, the conditions in the northern Gulf of Mexico do not favor tropical development," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "The water is not quite warm enough, and the storm will not spend enough time over the Gulf before moving ashore."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today's forecast: Spring weather raising temperatures, flooding fears