New Year’s Eve weather forecast, from rain in the West to snow in the East

More rough weather is forecast on both coasts when the ball drops on Wednesday night, ringing in 2026.

On the West Coast, more rain is coming on Wednesday to drenched Southern California, where residents are still recovering from last week’s flooding.

An excessive rainfall risk level of 2 out of 4 is in place in the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara areas on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. One to 2 inches of rain is generally expected across the LA area, but higher elevations could see 2 to 4 inches of rain.

More than 17 million people in Southern California are under a flood watch, with debris flow and mudslides also possible.

By noon on Wednesday, the rain will be falling from LA to the Bay Area. It will become more widespread through the state in the afternoon, with passing showers even expected for Las Vegas and Arizona into the evening.

Much of the Southwest, from California to Nevada to Arizona to Utah, will have rain when the clock strikes midnight, and the heavy rain will continue in LA through the morning.

On Thursday, the rain will spread north into Washington and Idaho.

Meanwhile, a quick clipper system is bringing more snow to the upper Midwest and the Northeast on New Year’s Eve.

The heaviest snow will be lake effect snow off the Great Lakes.

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a winter weather advisory is in place for 3 to 5 inches of snow from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning. Strong winds may reduce visibility at times.

Syracuse, New York — which saw a whopping 2 feet of snow on Tuesday, marking the city’s snowiest day in nearly 80 years — could get an additional 4 to 8 inches on Wednesday.

Around Orchard Park, New York, home to the Buffalo Bills, 1 to 2 feet is possible on Wednesday and Thursday.  

When the ball drops in Times Square, New York City could see a few flurries, but little to no snow accumulation is expected. The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — will be in the 20s when the ball drops.

Boston could get about 1 to 3 inches of snow from when the ball drops through 7 a.m. Thursday.

The lake effect snow will continue through the week, with some parts of upstate New York seeing 1 to 3 feet of snow by Saturday morning.