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Tag: west coast

  • Powerful storm to slam West Coast with feet of snow, flooding rain late this week

    Powerful storm to slam West Coast with feet of snow, flooding rain late this week

    After one storm system wallops Southern California and Arizona with heavy rain and high-country snow through Wednesday night, a much larger storm is set to slam Central and Northern California with a wide array of impacts from Friday into Saturday.

    Although the center of the storm system will move ashore in Oregon later Saturday into Saturday night, the worst of the impacts will occur farther to the south.

    Heavy rain and gusty winds will target coastal areas from San Francisco northward into southern Oregon spanning Friday into Saturday, as well as the Central Valley’s I-5 corridor from Sacramento to Redding.

    The foothills of the Sierra Nevada will also be hit hard with flooding downpours during this time.

    A general 1-2 inches of rain is forecast in the lowest elevations of the I-5 corridor and San Francisco Bay area, while 2-4 inches is more likely in coastal areas of Northern California.

    It is in the coastal ranges and foothills of the Sierra, however, that rainfall totals of 3-6 inches will occur. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches is anticipated in these regions.

    Because California is no longer suffering from drought and has actually been abnormally wet over the past one to two weeks, the heavy rainfall will significantly heighten the risk for flooding and mudslides, especially in burn-scar areas from this year’s wildfires.

    Significant travel delays and road closures are also likely, especially in areas where stream and river flooding occurs or where mudslides cover roadways or cause them to collapse.

    “In addition to the extreme amounts of rain, falling snow levels will allow snow to accumulate across the higher terrain of the Sierra Nevada, which will act as a boon for local ski resorts,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.

    Snow levels will likely fall below 5,000 feet in the Cascades and northern Rockies on Saturday and as low as 5,500 feet in the Sierra Nevada.

    Spanning Friday to Saturday night, AccuWeather meteorologists expect at least 1-2 feet of snow to bury Donner Pass along I-80 in Northern California with 2-4 feet in the highest elevations.

    An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 50 inches of snow is expected in the highest terrain of Northern California.

    Motorists traveling through the Sierra Nevada should be aware of chain requirements and be prepared with an emergency survival kit in case their vehicle breaks down or stalls.

    “While major snowfall accumulations farther north in the Washington and Oregon cascades are not expected from this storm system, any snow will be beneficial since these areas are suffering from abnormally dry conditions,” Buckingham added.

    In addition to the copious amounts of rain and snow slated for the end of the week and start of the weekend, gusty winds will buffet the northern half of California and southern part of Oregon.

    Wind gusts of 40-50 mph will threaten to cause sporadic power outages and may help weaken loose topsoil inundated by too much water, further enhancing the risk of mudslides. Blizzard conditions may occur at times in the Sierra Nevada.

    Drier conditions should gradually return from Sunday into Monday as the storm system pushes into the Rockies and Plains.

    Looking ahead into next week, storm-weary residents of California should finally catch a break from the onslaught as the storm track shifts farther north into the Pacific Northwest.

     

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  • ACCUWEATHER METEOROLOGISTS PROVIDE UPDATE ON RAIN AND SNOW HEADED TOWARD WEST COAST

    ACCUWEATHER METEOROLOGISTS PROVIDE UPDATE ON RAIN AND SNOW HEADED TOWARD WEST COAST

    Soon after the ‘bomb cyclone’ pushes east of the Rockies, a new storm will approach the West Coast of the United States this weekend to set the stage for more rounds of heavy rain and mountain snow in California.

    The storm will hinder return trips from Thanksgiving vacation as well as the resumption of daily commutes next week.

    The weather setup will make the ignition of wildfires unlikely and may even put an end to the risk through the rest of the year. However, enough rain can fall to unleash urban flooding and lead to debris flows in recent burn scar locations, including the Kincade Fire that burned over 77,000 acres in Sonoma County, California, earlier this autumn.

    While the heavy mountain snow anticipated will be a further boon for ski interests, snow and slippery driving conditions are likely at Donner Pass along Interstate 80 from Saturday afternoon into Monday night.

    A storm at the jet stream level of the atmosphere is forecast to hover just off the California coast later this weekend to early next week. The configuration will create a plume of tropical moisture from the Pacific Ocean to Northern California beginning late Saturday night.

    “This persistent plume, sometimes referred to as an ‘atmospheric river,’ will bring copious amounts of rain to coastal and low elevations and a great deal of snow to the Sierra Nevada of Northern California,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson.

    About 3-6 inches of rain can fall over the lower elevations of Northern California during the early to middle part of next week. However, an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches can occur on the southwest-facing slopes of the Coast Ranges and hills of the Sierra Nevada.

    Meanwhile, over in the high country, 3-6 feet of snow can fall from later this weekend to early next week.

    “It is possible that Southern California catches an episode or two of heavy rain and mountain snow as well,” Anderson said.

     

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