A powerful atmospheric river threatens California and western states while the cold gives truce to the rest of the US.

As much of the eastern United States is already beginning to see rising temperatures following the historic winter storm that killed at least 65, several western states are now bracing to be hit by a

Although the West Coast is no stranger to this weather phenomenon, experts warn that this time the atmospheric storm is expected to last longer and be more intense, at times dumping up to

Forecasters expect multiple systems to move very quickly toward multiple western states, including California, through the remainder of the week and through at least Monday.

Starting this

, a large system is expected to bring snow and wind gusts of up to 70 mph (113 km/h) to the Rocky Mountains and Four Corners regions, NBC News reported.

On

, another storm system will hit the West Coast, with a risk of flooding in some areas of California.

And on

, another wave of severe weather will continue to bring rain on the West Coast and heavy snow in the mountains.

By the time the storms move west, there will have been as much as double-digit precipitation and three feet (one meter) of snow or more.

A pickup truck at a flooded intersection of E Bolivar Street in Salinas, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. Nic Coury / AP

Some parts of the west have already been affected by bad weather.

In the Northwest,

high tides and strong winds whipping through parts of

caused deadly accidents, power outages and flooding Tuesday and early Wednesday.

state police

reported that several people were killed after their car crashed into a tree on US 26 east of Cannon Beach, The Oregonian newspaper reported.

The exact number of deaths is still unknown.

Farther east on the same road, another driver was killed when a tree fell and hit his car on the road, the ABC affiliate in Portland reported.

Oregon was the state with the highest number of reported power outages as of Wednesday morning, with more than 66,000 customers affected, according to PowerOutage.us.

As of 11:30 am ET there were still about 63,000 affected, while in Washington there were about 21,000.

Ecola and Cape Meares State Parks announced emergency closures due to high winds and the possibility of falling trees.

The latter, one of the 17 places that host the week of whale watching in the state, returned to celebrate in person for the first time since the pandemic.

In

state , high tides and heavy rains will affect more than a dozen homes in Seattle's South Park neighborhood, The Seattle Times reported.

In Olympia, the state capital, a record high tide of 18.4 feet submerged parts of the city and washed marine life onto the streets, according to authorities.

"Jellyfish washed up on the shoreline and into our streets

," Olympia Water Resources Director Eric Christensen said, according to NBC News.

And he added that a woman “was kind enough to rescue them and return them to Budd Inlet”…

In

the first of a week of storms brought high winds, rain and snow to the state on Tuesday, substantially lowering temperatures that topped 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 

C) in some areas over Christmas.

Another day of nightmares in the airports: more than 3,000 trips suspended by the winter storm

Dec 28, 202202:26

The frigid climate gives truce to the center and east

However, according to the Weather Service, most of the central and eastern part of the country will finally experience a

of the holiday weekend.

In much of the United States,

above average are expected during the holiday weekend. 

In Rochester and Buffalo, temperatures are expected to reach 40 degrees on Wednesday and continue to rise to 50 degrees on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Tuesday night, for the first time in more than a week that the Buffalo area did not have winter weather advisories in effect, the Buffalo National Weather Service said on Twitter.

The city's airport, which has been closed since December 23, is expected to reopen on Wednesday morning.

At least 18 people have died in this city, according to the NBC News count.

“Victims have been found in different ways,” Mike DeGeorge, a spokesman for the Buffalo mayor's office, told The New York Time.

“They have been found in stranded vehicles, they have been found on sidewalks, near street corners, some have been found in snowbanks.

Some have been found because some have been without power since the storm started,” he detailed.

In

— where at least 32 people were killed by the storm — power was quickly restored, with some 1,600 customers still without power Wednesday morning.

Highs in

are expected to exceed 50 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday, while Dallas could see highs in the 60s and 70s from Wednesday through New Year's Day.

In

the highs will be comparatively more moderate, around 40 degrees on Wednesday, being able to reach 55 degrees on Thursday and stabilizing in the 40s from Friday until New Year's Day.

Due to the low temperatures, various areas in Mexico presented snowfall

Dec 28, 202201:47

Chaos continues at airports

Thousands of families still waiting to catch a Southwest Airlines flight on Wednesday after days of cancellations, lost luggage and lost family connections suffered another wave of canceled flights, with another 2,800 canceled on Wednesday, according to the FlightAware tracking service, more than 91% of all the canceled flights in the US as of early Wednesday were from Southwest, which has been unable to recover from ferocious winter storms that ravaged large swaths of the country over the weekend.

Southwest's operating systems have been singularly affected, to the point that the federal government is investigating what happened at the Dallas airline, which has also frustrated its own flight and ground crews.