A storm system is now hitting the Northeast overnight Tuesday, Jan. 6, into Wednesday, Jan. 7, bringing a messy mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain that could make for a slippery morning commute. According to the National Weather Service,

Back-to-back cross-country storms are expected to bring heavy rain to millions east of the Mississippi River, the first of which begins Thursday, bringing a severe weather threat to parts of the central U.

"Another round of freezing rain will move in this evening through early tomorrow morning, with icy & slick travel expected as it falls and afterwards," the NWS Twin Cities says. "Temps will be very close to freezing, and how much ice ends up accumulating will be closely tied to how warm we are."

Precipitation will roll in for the first of two back-to-back storms Thursday evening as pure rain. This first storm will arrive out of the south, bringing warmer air along, keeping precipitation as rain into Friday morning. There is a slight chance of some mixing of rain and snow, but overall trends are keeping temperatures above freezing.

Communities across Southern California are cleaning up after several days of showers across the region. Evacuation warnings were in place for neighborhoods across Los Angeles County, primarily in areas surrounding recent burn scars -- including in Altadena around the Eaton Fire burn scar.

A tropical low has been declared over the Coral Sea and it is expected to move towards the Far North Queensland coast over the next few days. The bureau said there is a moderate chance it could develop into a tropical cyclone.

Those projected rainfall totals compare to the amount recorded during the first 48 hours of last week’s Christmas Eve storm where LA County got 2 to 10 inches, Orange County received 1 to 5 inches and the Inland Empire got 0.64 to 12.32 inches.

Heavy rain and flash flooding already led to water rescues and at least one death in Northern California, local officials said. Shasta County Sheriff Michael L. Johnson on Monday declared a state of emergency to prepare for more rain and allow the state to help with hazard mitigation and search and rescue operations.