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ABC News(NEW YORK) — A southern storm brought two confirmed tornadoes to Florida, record rainfall in Orlando and damage to Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday. Now the storm continues to inch its way north during the busiest travel days of the holiday season.
The storm system is moving north on Friday morning and joining with a western storm. Numerous flood watches and warnings have been posted for the East Coast, including high wind warnings and a winter weather advisory.
The southern storm is moving along the spine of the Appalachians, producing gusty winds and heavy rain from Washington, D.C., into Boston.
The storms join in the Northeast on Friday afternoon with heavy rain and gusty winds continuing for the Northeast. On the back side of the storm, snow showers are expected in the central Appalachians from North Carolina to West Virginia.
By Friday night and into Saturday morning, the eastern storm will finally begin to move out of the U.S. and into Canada. Gusty winds and snow showers will continue for the Northeast, but the heavy rain will be over. Through the day on Friday, an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain is expected for parts of the Northeast with river and flash flooding possible.
Western storms to come
Winds gusted over 100 mph in Washington state on Thursday, producing damage just a couple days after a tornado hit the state. Huge waves made aviation along the coast very difficult if not impossible.
Almost 4 inches of rain fell in parts of Washington and Oregon in the last 48 hours.
Now, a series of storms is lined up in the Pacific and ready to slam into the West Coast once again.
Rainfall totals through the weekend and into Monday will be heavy once again, with some areas forecast to see more than 3 inches of rain.
Snow is expected all the way down to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, where a winter storm watch has been issued. Some areas could see several feet of snow through the weekend and into Monday.
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