Pacific Pounder Brings Rare Tornado

The western US has been whalloped by storms over the past few days - with at least 2 more weather systems on deck.

Tuesday brought 2 rare tornadoes to southern California - with one touchdown reported in the Huntington Beach vicinity. There was some damage but apparently no injuries.

Heavy mountain snow and torrential valley rain along with very strong winds are causing fears of power outages and mudslides from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

There has even been heavy rain in the Phoenix vicinity with most locations seeing anywhere from 3/4" to over 1.00" of rain in the past 24 hours. Up to 3 more inches may fall in a few locations before all is said and done with this series of storms.

In the midwest, Iowa has been hard hit today with freezing rain. Hundreds of schools have been cancelled due to the dangerous driving conditions.

Meanwhile, in the southern Mississippi River Valley today, we have the chance to see some of the first severe thunderstorms of the new year from eastern Texas and Oklahoma, across Arkansas, Louisiana, western Tennessee, Mississippi and western Alabama.