Kathryn Prociv

Nearly 70 million people were under cold weather alerts on Monday morning, stretching from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast.

At least eight million people remain under flood watches in swaths of the northwestern U.S. on Wednesday, as 31 million people are under strong wind alerts in states across more than half the country.

The Northeast is facing a wintry mix of snow and cold rain as the West Coast contends with relentless rain and risk of more flooding.

Sunny skies are expected in the Southeast and record warmth if forecast across the middle of the U.S.

Get more news on Three people are dead after major storms swept through California , dumping rain and leaving behind catastrophic flooding during the Christmas holiday — and even more rain is in the forecast.

Get more news on Messy winter weather — including snow, ice and strong winds — is putting more stress on already busy post-holiday travel plans

The fires have destroyed dozens of structures and forced emergency measures, as drought and low humidity fuel dangerous conditions across the Southeast.

Meanwhile, fires continue to rage in Georgia as red flag warnings are up for other parts of the country.

Storms in the middle of the country, snow in the Rockies and heat in the Northeast are all happening this week.

The storms have already begun to disrupt holiday travel, with more than 1,000 delays within, into or out of the U.S. as of Thursday morning.