Extreme weather arrives on East Coast for Christmas Eve

The big picture: The storm has already dumped more than eight inches of snow over Minneapolis and led police to respond to over 250 crashes or calls for help in Nebraska, The New York Times reports.

• Forecasters have issued warnings of high winds, heavy snow, flooding and even tornadoes from the mid-Atlantic to southern New England, including New York City and Boston.
• The combination of rainfall and existing snow cover could trigger flooding in urban and poor drainage areas. The National Weather Service warned local residents to expect "widespread power outages."
• Wind gusts are forecast to reach between 50 and 60 mph, AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DeSilva said.

Editor's note: Updates with information on the Midwest.