Snow, Winds and Halos from Big Bear Lake, Southern California, during the Friday Night Event and Flood Warnings by the National Weather Service
Nearly 50 million people across the Northeast are under winter weather alerts as a storm that brought tornadoes, damaging winds and hail to the Central US sweeps into the region.
High elevations at Big Bear Lake in Southern California saw between 20 to 40 inches of snow over the course of three days as of Friday evening, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency also reported that many vehicles were stuck Friday morning, prompting state officials to close roads.
According to Matt Solum, who is an official with the National Weather Service’s Western Region Headquarters, “We do expect an even stronger storm to hit the state later in the day on Sunday and Tuesday.” “We encourage everyone to take the time over the weekend to make any needed preparations for the next storm coming in.”
The Mississippi River Valley is in need of relief due to the severe weather, so the storm is expected to bring much needed relief.
The second half of the storm may see Blizzard Warnings if this forecast holds. As for when and exactly where the threat transitions from snow load/poor roads to poor visibility and inability to travel, that will come as we get closer,” the weather service office in Twin Cities explained.
Flood advisories were in effect and the warnings of snow continued in the mountains. However, forecasters predicted that the storm would give up later in the day.
The National Weather Service office in Hanford said that this amount of snow will cause the passes to be closed for a period of time which will impact traffic getting to and from LA.
The National Weather service office in Reno predicts the snow will be about 25% of normal, which is more than twice the normal amount.
It seems a lot like Christmas out here. It was not a lot of wind, and it stuck to everything. It’s like a picture postcard.”
The snow totals are impressive, but he thinks that this precipitation will be big for the state.
“We Are Buried” at the Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort: Snow in Olympic Valley, Calif., Counting Winds From 60 mph to 30 F
“We’re Buried,” the Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort wrote on its website Sunday, sharing photos of thick snow covering the ski resort in Olympic Valley, California.
Kihara told CNN that they had never seen so much snow up here. “We woke up to it. It started yesterday but picked up a lot overnight. Lots of trees are falling and all the roads around us are closed. Power is out and has been mostly gone since Tuesday.”
In the past 48 hours, a total of 48 inches of snow has been accumulated in Battle Lake, Wyoming and Dupuyer, Montana, and 29 inches in Park City, Utah.
In the Northern Plains, the incoming cold front will bring wind gusts of as high as 60 mph and send temperatures down as low as minus 30 degrees.
By Friday, temperatures could hit the season’s lowest in what is only the first week of winter. The chill could be as low as 20 F on Christmas Eve.
American Power Outage and Snow Reports from Atmospheric River Storms During the Fourth and Fifth Full Months in the Prevalence of a Category 2 Hurricane
As of Tuesday morning, air travel appeared largely undisturbed by the approaching polar front, with more than 575 delays and 285 cancellations at airports across the U.S., according to the tracking site Flight Aware.
Power Outage.us shows that as of Friday afternoon, more than 873,000 households across the U.S. were without power.
Frostbite is another risk for those trying to brave the cold, the NWS says. Exposure to cold could cause skin cells to die off in as little as 10 minutes.
Those venturing outside should dress in layers, cover their skin and change into dry clothing as soon as possible. Staying indoors is the most effective prevention by far, experts say.
More than 100,000 homes and businesses are without power after this week’s extreme weather caused many power failures in the state, as temperatures are predicted to plummet with Northern California possibly seeing below freezing temperatures.
The National Weather service warned of a parade of atmospheric rivers that are expected to cause heavy rain and mountain snow. Atmospheric river storms are long plumes of moisture stretching out into the Pacific and are capable of dropping staggering amounts of rain and snow.
More than 60 million people from the west into the northern Plains, Great Lakes region, New York and New England are under winter weather advisories. About one million homes and businesses have been left without power by several storms that have hit the region, mainly in Michigan, and other parts of the Midwest.
The winds on Tuesday were so high that they were a Category 2 Hurricane. In Mount Hood, Oregon, there was a 105 mph wind gusts and in North Bonneville, Washington there was a 104 mph gusts. Wind speeds between 80 and 90 mph were reported Tuesday in several cities, including a gust of 90 mph in Walker, California.
“While these winds won’t be on the order of the previous/stronger system it really won’t take much to bring trees down given saturated conditions and weakened trees from the last event,” the weather service in San Francisco posted Friday.
“The consecutive dry summers that we’ve had, especially the heat events like the heat dome, that really damages trees and it takes up so much of their energy to fuel their immune systems to fight off pathogens,” Bourgeois said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department notified on Monday night of a three-year record breaking rainfall event and expected to be for three to five days
Portland recorded 2.12 inches of rain, breaking the old record of 1.08 inches set on December 26, 1996. Monday was raining in Portland for the third year in a row.
Over the next five days, rainfall across much of the West is forecast to be between 2-4 inches with isolated pockets up to 6 inches. The coastline is expected to see 3-6 inches of rain with some areas possibly seeing higher than that.
The weather service had warned Friday of possible overnight flash floods, landslides and mudslides in Los Angeles County near creeks, streams, urban areas, highways and areas that were burned by wildfires. The threat area included downtown L.A., Hollywood, Beverly Hills and many suburbs.
“Say goodbye to the warmth,” the National Weather Service in Los Angeles tweeted Monday. Between today and Tuesday, there will be a big drop in temperatures. There will be 15-20 degrees of cooling thanks to the storm system.
The initial round of rain, wind and snow is moving inland in the West and will begin to fall in inter-mountain areas on Wednesday. While coastal states may experience a brief lull on Wednesday, more rounds of rain and snow are predicted to sweep onshore at the end of the week.
Some parts of Southern California, the Four Corners region, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico are being impacted by the first wave. Low elevation rainfall and high elevation snowfall will move out of California by late Wednesday morning and remain in the Four Corners area until Thursday.
New Year’s Eve celebrations in Washington, DC, and New York City are likely to be less than ideal. Los Angeles is also expected to ring in a wet new year.
Sacramento Weather Forecast for New York City in the First 11 Days of April Through the Fourth Week of Mayo-Julio Varying Temperatures
“Tuesday is probably the day where you’ll likely need to keep a really close eye on the weather as the potential for widespread flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and roadway and urban flooding will be at its highest during the next week as all the runoff and heavy precipitation comes together resulting in a mess,” the weather service office in Sacramento said.
Rain chances for New York City will increase through Saturday, with the heaviest rainfall expected between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. Sunday. Temperatures will be near 50 through most of the afternoon into Sunday.
“The slight risk area mostly highlights places that are already high in soil moisture, burn scars and urban areas,” the Weather Prediction Center said.
An eastbound stretch of Interstate-70 in Colorado reopened Thursday after a nine-hour closure left drivers stranded amid bouts of heavy mountain snow, widespread rain and gusty winds.
The bad weather caused trees to fall on passing vehicles in Oregon, killing five people, including a girl.
There were warnings of road flooding, rivers and mudslides in the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday due to the predicted arrival of rain, which was followed by a series of powerful Pacific storms.
In the state’s capital, at least 40,000 customers were still without power early Sunday, down from more than 150,000 a day earlier, according to a Sacramento Municipal Utility District online map.
“Too many road closures to count at this point,” the weather agency in Sacramento said in an afternoon tweet. Sacramento County urged residents in the unincorporated community of Wilton to evacuate, warning that flooded roadways could “cut off access to leave the area.”
California’s El Nio Weather Service said it had received over 10 days of rain over the last 10 days and is calling for an additional five days
San Francisco experienced its wettest period on record during the last 10 days. They’ve had over a foot of rain since December 1 and the forecast calls for more rain in the next five days.
The Highway Patrol said that a section of U.S. 101 was closed because of flooding south of San Francisco. Videos on Twitter showed mud-colored water streaming along San Francisco streets, and a staircase in Oakland turned into a veritable waterfall by heavy rains.
The weather service predicted the storm could bring between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain to the Sacramento area before it moved south. One ski resort south of Lake Tahoe closed chair lifts because of flooding and operational problems, and posted a photo on Twitter showing one lift tower and its empty chairs surrounded by water.
The Sacramento agency released a map of 24-hour precipitation through Saturday morning, showing a wide range of totals in the region, from less than an inch (2.54 centimeters) in some areas to more than 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) in the Sierra foothills.
The police posted pictures of the flooded railroad underpass and a car that was stuck in the water.
She said that the precipitation California has received in recent days combined with the nine atmospheric rivers in early January helped ease the impacts of the El Nio weather phenomenon.
Humboldt County, where a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck on Dec. 20, also saw roadways begin to flood, according to the National Weather Service’s Eureka office. A bridge that was temporarily closed last week due to earthquake damage may be closed again if the Eel River, which it crosses, gets too high, officials said.
The Sierra Nevada Coastal Regime During the First of Two Full-Scale, High-Speed, Wet and Wind-Driven Superstorms on Saturday
It was the first of several storms expected to roll across California over the next week. Hannah said that the current system is likely to be warmer and wetter than next week’s storms.
“Strong winds could cause tree damage and lead to power outages and high waves on Lake Tahoe may capsize small vessels,” the weather service in Reno said.
Flood watches and warnings were issued for the weekend north and south of Reno, where there was a risk of flooding along some rivers and streams.
More than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of snow had accumulated in the high Sierra Nevada, and the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area said heavy, wet snow would cause major delays in chairlift openings. On Saturday the resort reported many lift closings due to high winds, low visibility and ice.
People were rescued after their vehicles were flooded in San Bernardino and Orange counties. There were no serious injuries reported.
The region isn’t expected to get much rain on New Year’s Day, but spectators are already getting ready for the Rose Parade.
Another round of heavy showers was also forecast for Southern California on Tuesday or Wednesday, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles-area office said.
The main issues for the coastal community will be flooding, wind and beach conditions. In the higher altitudes it will be very windy and snowy, making traveling on the roads very dangerous.
It can damage the ground, even a 40 mph wind, if the rain continues this weekend and the ground is already saturated from record rains earlier this week.
“Impacts to infrastructure include but are not limited to; river flooding, mudslides, power outages & snow load,” the prediction center said in a tweet.
As the region faces back-to-back storms this week, Saturday’s rain is going to intensify the impact of possible flooding. There were many rounds of deadly flooding in the state in the late December and January period.
The weekend’s rain will bring renewed concerns for local streams, creeks and rivers. The Colgan Creek, Berryessa Creek, Mark West Creek, Green Valley Creek, and the Cosumnes River all have flood gauge which are currently above flood stage.
Weather Forecast Patterns for the Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic Regions during the Monday El Nio and La Nia Storms
El Niño and La Niña forecast patterns put out by the Climate Prediction Center give guidelines on what the overall forecast can be during a seasonal time period.
Marybeth Arcodia is a researcher at Colorado State University and she said that the Pacific Northwest and Southern California usually see wetter than normal conditions when there is a La Nia. “This is due to the jet stream being pushed farther north and having a wavier pattern. “
During El Nio or La Nias, atmospheric rivers are formed in the winter and can be influenced by the larger patterns in the Pacific.
Professor Michael Tippett of Columbia University says that forecast patterns are not meant to be used for a single day, but for the entire season. This is a reason that researching the patterns is so important.
Tippett said there is an element of randomness that isn’t explained by the patterns. “This might help us understand why one year is different than the other.”
Michael Anderson, the state’s Climatologist, told a news conference late on Saturday that officials were keeping watch on three other systems in the Pacific and that they were closely monitoring Monday’s storm.
CNN releases a version of the article every Monday in the Weather Brief, but this one originally appeared in the weekly weather newsletter. You can sign up here to receive them every week and during significant storms.
The storm is already showing signs of life along the West Coast, as snow and rain is already falling across the Pacific Northwest, adding to their already blockbuster snow season.
The southern Wyoming area will be hit by nearly two feet of snow and winds up to 70 mph, creating blinding conditions. The weather service also warns of wind chills falling to 25 degrees below zero.
There was an ice storm warning in effect Thursday morning from central Iowa to the Wisconsin-Illinois line and southern Michigan, which could make morning travel impossible in some places.
New York City and Boston have winter weather advisories in place, where 6 inches or more could fall, and where there could be snow on the ground. Central Park has only received tiny amounts of snow this year and could see up to 3 inches through Tuesday.
Dozens of record highs are expected on Thursday from Ohio to Florida. Highs could go as high as 35 degrees for parts of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Whether you are buried under three feet of snow and experiencing frigid temperatures or basking in the sunshine and record warmth, this week will touch nearly all corners of the country with wild weather.
The people of the Northern states are hunkering down as high winds and heavy snow will cause whiteout conditions on Wednesday.
Statewide flights, power lines and weather forecasts for Northern California and Wyoming as a result of a large snowfall on Wednesday morning. Statewide, Central Valley, and Wyoming
On Wednesday morning, flight delays began to rise. More than 1,600 flights had been canceled as of 8 a.m.
On his verified account, the Minnesota governor said that he would direct the state’s National Guard, transportation and patrol to be ready to respond.
In California, a cold front could cause winds to be as high as 60 mph, threatening power lines. As of Wednesday morning, more than 119,000 homes and businesses were without power in parts of the state’s Central Valley.
The Southeast and mid-Atlantic will see warm weather on Wednesday, with highs in the 70s and 80s.
The NWS said in its bulletin that the forecast temperature for Thursday in New England will be in the single digits in northern Maine.
Search and rescue operations were underway Wednesday evening in several counties across Wyoming to recover motorists that become trapped in heavy snow, the state highway patrol said.
The Minnesota State Patrol reported more than 160 vehicle crashes and dozens of cars spinning off roads because of the snowstorm that fell in the state. Lt. Gordon Shank said in a series of tweets.
Wisconsin statewide energy emergency declared by governor Tony Evers with an all-time record of temperature above 85 and 83 degrees in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions
In Wisconsin – similarly hit by snow since Tuesday in the north and freezing rain Wednesday in the south – Gov. Tony Evers declared a statewide energy emergency Wednesday, saying it will “allow for a more swift and efficient restoration of any electric power outages throughout the state,” a news release from his office said.
Blizzard warnings are set to continue through Saturday afternoon. The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles hasn’t issued a storm warning in 25 years.
The dueling winter storm and southern heat wave created a stark 100-degree temperature difference between the Northern Rockies and the South earlier this week.
• Wisconsin airport preemptively closed: Green Bay’s international airport canceled the remainder of its daily flights Wednesday evening and most of its flights Thursday morning.
The governor announced that state offices would be closed on Thursday because of the storm.
Atlanta had an all-time record in February, when it was 81 degrees. Washington, D.C., reached 79 degrees, New Orleans reached 83 degrees and Nashville, Tenn., was 80 degrees on Wednesday.
The warm temperatures seen in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic areas were noteworthy, the National Weather Service said. On Thursday, both Nashville, Tenn., and Richmond, Va., saw temperatures hit 85 and 83 degrees respectively.
Super-Kamiokande Irradiation and Flood Warning for the Northern Suburbs of the Michigan Panhandle on Saturday and Sunday
On Friday, forecasters also urged mariners near the coast of the state’s San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties to “seek safe harbor immediately” — warning of severe thunderstorms that could produce sudden waterspouts, powerful enough to “easily overturn boats.” Small tornadoes on land are a possibility for the two counties.
The region has been issued a freeze warning for Friday evening through Saturday morning. The sub-freezing conditions will be especially dangerous to unsheltered populations, crops and unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Michigan was hit with freezing rain and ice that wreaked havoc on infrastructure and posed a danger to livestock. They saw 8 inches of snow in Port Austin. The southern part of the state had lots of ice according to the National Weather Service.
Light snow is still a possibility in parts of southeast Michigan. It will be cold in the state on Friday. The weather is expected to warm up by Sunday.
A flash flood warning was issued by the weather service on Friday after a bout of heavy rain caused some Los Angeles-area roads to turn into rivers.
The Weather Prediction Center says the weekend is going to be wet and that flash flooding will continue in the north and west of Los Angeles.
The San Diego area is forecast to receive up to 2.5 inches of precipitation, and the southwestern portion of California remains in a flood watch through Saturday evening.
The aftermath of the same weather system that struck California and numerous states spanning the country earlier this week is still affecting hundreds of thousands of people in the Midwest.
More than 400,000 people in Michigan were without power as of early Saturday afternoon. The two main utilities in the state, DTE and Consumers Energy, have said they hope to have the lights back on for most of their customers by Sunday night.
DTE, one of Michigan’s largest electric providers, is restoring power to stricken areas but cautioned it will not be able to return service to most customers before Sunday.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Kalamazoo, Michigan, declared a snow emergency Friday night after a 15-vehicle pileup on the Massachusetts Turnpike
Minneapolis officials declared a snow emergency Friday due to the large amount of snow. The city received 13 inches of precipitation in a three-day period.
In New England, icy conditions likely contributed to a massive 15-vehicle pileup on the Massachusetts Turnpike Thursday night, according to a tweet by the Massachusetts State Police.
There have been reports of 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 centimeters) across some of the higher peaks and we are looking at an additional foot or two through the rest of the day.
The Ventura County area was hit by flash flooding at the start of Saturday, but the weather service said it was over.
A spokesman for Consumers Energy said ice weighed down power lines and was equivalent to the weight of a baby grand piano.
In Kalamazoo, Michigan, Allison Rinker borrowed a generator to keep her home warm after two nights in the cold and dark.
She said that the spirits were low on the second day. “As soon as the heat came back and we were able to have one or two lights running, it was like a complete flip in attitude.”
She said that they were scared that the ice falling off the trees would cause their car to break. “There’s just tree limbs everywhere, half of the trees just falling down. The destruction is insane.”
High-Temperature Thunders Caused by a Major Winter Storm Has Caused Bblizzard and Flood Warnings Across California
The National Weather Service said the system was expected to bring rain and snow to southern Nevada and northwest Arizona on Saturday and Sunday.
Yet the cold weather blasting the North and West avoided the southern states, leading to wild temperatures differences. The high temperature for the U.S. on Friday was 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) at Falcon Lake, Texas, while the low was minus-35 degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 Celsius) near Huntley, Montana.
At least three people have died in the coast-to-coast storms. A Michigan firefighter died Wednesday after coming into contact with a downed power line, while in Rochester, Minnesota, a pedestrian died after being hit by a city-operated snowplow. A person died of cold in Portland.
Portland’s second-heaviest snowfall on record this week shut down the entire city, with the roads not expected to thaw until Saturday.
Tim Varner sat huddled with blankets in a Portland storefront doorway shielding him from some of the wind, ice and snow. Local officials opened six overnight shelters but the 57-year-old, who has been homeless for two decades, said it was too hard to push a shopping cart containing his belongings to reach one.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/25/1159560284/a-major-winter-storm-has-prompted-blizzard-and-flood-warnings-across-california
The Last Day of Meteorological Winter in the Northeast: Weather-Induced Snow, Snow, and Ice in the Los Padres National Forest
“It’s impossible,” he said. The snow builds up on your cart’s wheels and you need to get it on the street. You’re stuck.
In addition, heavy rainfall brought several inches of rain to the area, including more than 4 inches in Holy Jim Canyon, Lower Silverado Canyon and Henshaw Dam; more than three inches in La Jolla Amago, Costa Mesa, Mount Woodson and Carlsbad Airport; and more than two inches to John Wayne Airport, Escondido, San Bernardino and Temecula, according to the service’s 5-day rainfall reports.
The storm made for dangerous travel conditions in some areas. State Route 33 was closed because of rock slides and erosion in the Los Padres National Forest.
“Better late than never! New York City has only received 0.4” of snow so far this winter (since Dec 1), about 2 feet under their average,” CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said. On the last day of meteorological winter, it looks like that will change.
The city announced on its website that the winter parking rules were scrapped due to a warmer-than-average weather pattern in February.
A mixture of precipitation is expected, including sleet and snow in the valleys and ice on higher ground in central Pennsylvania. The parts of central and upstate New York that could see snow and ice are:
“Essentially, the snow drought is not equaling an actual drought for the Northeast,” according to Miller, who added the region is experiencing the normal number of storms and amounts of precipitation, it’s just falling as rain, rather than snow, due to the warm temperatures.
There is a possibility that the period between snow events will become more frequent as the climate warms. Warmer Northeast temperatures lead to more rain and less snow along the coast in the winter according to the US National Climate Assessment.
And it’s not just the Northeast. Meteorological winter, which spans December, January, and February, is also the fastest-warming season for 75% of 238 US locations, according to Climate Central’s data analysis.
Winter Storm Us-Tuesday: Warnings for the State Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles County Sheriff, and California Department of Transportation
Kathy Hochul told New Yorkers to prepare for hazardous travel as the state braces for freezing rain, snowfall rates at least 1 inch per hour, and wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour.
Some residents in Southern California’s San Bernardino Mountains have been trapped by the snow since last week and they’re now watching their gas stations and grocery stores run low on supplies, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff.
San Bernardino County decided to declare a local emergency Monday as crews worked to clear the snow so that roads could be used by first responders.
Among those trapped were more than 600 students who were scheduled to return home last Friday but got stuck at their camps due to the storm. Children in the Irvine Unified School District were escorted down the mountain by the California Highway Patrol on Monday to be with their families.
“If you plan to travel by road at elevations above 1,000 feet through West Coast states, be prepared for rapidly changing conditions and have winter driving supplies,” the National Weather Service warned.
“Travel could be impossible with near zero visibility at times through early Wednesday morning. The strong winds could cause damage. If you risk travel you could become stranded in vehicles for hours,” the National Weather Service office in Reno said.
You have to know how to use chains. If you are delayed, make sure you bring an emergency kit with warm clothes, snacks and water. Make sure your vehicle is ready with good tires and working wiper blades,” the Oregon Department of Transportation said.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/28/weather/winter-storm-us-tuesday/index.html
Oklahoma’s Southern Plains Storm System Revealed During a Broad-Area Outburst on Oct. 2, 2010, NBC News
Officials in Oklahoma are still assessing the damage, though the most concentrated impacts appear to be in Norman, Shawnee and possibly Cheyenne, according to a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
Almost 140 storm reports were made on Sunday across the southern Plains, with most of them caused by wind. Several hailstones can be reported with a diameter of 1.75 inches in those states.
Weather experts will determine if the system can be classified as a derecho, a windstorm, which causes damage in a single direction across a relatively straight path.
By Tuesday morning, parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island had already seen more than six inches of snow, while the Boston area received roughly a third of that or less.