Power-Outage and Wind Warnings for Oregon and Washington State as Tropical Storms Become More Dangerous by Showers and Snow in the Pacific Northwest
California is predicted to be the hardest hit by rain and snow, with all 11 Western states expecting the precipitation. Power was knocked out to about 130,000 customers in Oregon and Washington state by Tuesday afternoon, as well as another 22,000 in California.
The state remained under flash flood warnings after a weather phenomenon known as an atmospheric river dropped historic rain levels on San Francisco and other areas. But a second atmospheric river is predicted to arrive soon — and it will be as bad or worse than the New Year’s Eve deluge, forecasters warn.
The weather service has put more than 15 million people under wind watches in the west as a storm system moves inland.
A high-wind warning is in effect for much of the Pacific Northwest, where widespread winds of 35 to 45 mph with wind gusts up to 70 mph are forecast or already occurring. In the Pacific Northwest and other Western states, wind advisories are posted.
Colin Bourgeois told CNN that trees in the Portland area could be damaged by strong winds.
“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.
Flash Flooding and the Los Angeles Area NWS during the Second Wet Day of the Fourth Month of the California Drought and Snow Breaking Season
San Francisco’s downtown NWS site recorded 5.46 inches of rain on Dec. 31 — the second-wettest day at that location in more than 170 years, the NWS said.
“We may see over 15 inches of precipitation over the next week or so, especially over the Sierra and the parts of northern California,” he said. “It’s going to make somewhat of a dent to the prolonged drought they are experiencing.”
The greatest flash-flooding concerns are for the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, as well as the coastal portions of southern Oregon down through the Bay Area and to Los Angeles County.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles says to say goodbye to the warmth. There is a big drop in temperatures between today and Tuesday. Expect 15-20 degrees of cooling thanks to the approaching storm system.”
Despite the issues, the moisture is a bit of relief for drought-stricken California, which saw the driest beginning of the year on record and ended 2022 with drenched roadways, flooding rivers and thick mountain snow.
Another significant storm system will plow into the West Coast on Friday, bringing heavy rain, mountain snow and strong winds – and the last day of the year will be a wet one in the Northeast and the Southwest.
The Bay Area NWS office says that the storm has shown “impressive numbers” and will likely start to hit California by late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Snowfall and Floods in the Sierra Region after the Sierra Storm, and the First Snow in the United States During a Wet New Year
In the Sierra region the storm dropped snow at a rate up to 7.5 inches per hour. The basin had 20 to 24 inches of snow, which was twice what it got above 7,000 feet.
The La Nia climate pattern that we are currently seeing is more likely to occur in an atmospheric river because the waters in the Pacific Ocean are cooler than average. This is the third consecutive winter in which La Niña has prevailed, according to Climate.gov.
After a winter storm brought frigid temperatures and heavy snow in the West, the East is already seeing warmer temperatures. Hard-hit places like the Buffalo, N.Y., area, where at least 31 people have died, are trying to recover and clear roads as snowfall lessens.
New Year’s Eve celebrations will most likely be disrupted in New York City and Washington, DC. Los Angeles is expected to have a wet new year.
Entire Bay Area and Central Valley are on a flood watch. Rain could ease Saturday evening before the calendar turns to 2023.
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.
California Highway Patrol and Sacramento Department Reopened Late Saturday after a Ninth-Centrifuge on the Eastbound Highway of Interstate-70
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.
Dangerous conditions Tuesday in Oregon left five people dead, including a 4-year-old girl, after severe weather caused trees to fall on passing vehicles, state police said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The storm that brought rain and snow to much of California on Saturday wreaked havoc on highways as the state prepared to ring in the new year.
A map by the Municipal Utility District shows that more than 153,000 customers were without power on Saturday. The utility said in a message that it was working to restore power as a result of the powerful winter storm.
The day before the water rose in the city of Wilton, as well as several other places in Santa Cruz County, residents were ordered to leave.
It was on pace to become the second wettest day on record in Downtown San Francisco, after getting more than five inches of rain on Saturday.
The California Highway Patrol reported on its website that US Highway 101 in South San Francisco was temporarily closed Saturday due to the high tides and non-stop rain not being enough to bring the water down.
Weather service meteorologist Courtney Carpenter said the storm could drop over an inch of rain in the Sacramento area before moving south. One ski resort south of Lake tahoe, which closed chair lifts because of flooding and operational issues, posted a picture on social media that showed empty chairs and one lift tower 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 First California Floods of Dec. 20: Statewide Flood Warnings and Emergency Crew Efforts on Sacramento Valley and Sacramento Foothills
The Stockton Police Department posted photos of a flooded railroad underpass and a car that appeared stalled in more than a foot (30 centimeters) of water.
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. If the Eel River gets too high, the bridge that is temporarily closed last week may have to be closed again.
The first storm was expected to hit California next week. The National Weather Service predicts that the current system will be warmer and wet, while next week’s storms will be colder.
The weather service in Reno said strong winds might cause tree damage and lead to power outages, while high waves may limit small vessels on the lake.
Flood watches and warnings are in effect for the Sierra’s eastern front until the weekend, with a small to moderate flood forecast along some rivers and streams.
And as streets flooded and river water levels rose, the storm also forced residents of several small communities in northern California out of their homes on New Year’s Eve as evacuation orders and warnings were issued.
The Cosumnes and Mokelumne rivers overflowed, as well as the Mormon Slough, according to the National Weather Service. Flood warnings were issued for the southern Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills.
Three communities were ordered to evacuate by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office due to creek flooding, while other communities were told to evacuate due to the rising San Lorenzo River waters.
“Flooding impacts continue to escalate as this rain continues with too many road closures to count at this point,” NWS said Saturday, telling residents to stay put amid reports of rock and mudslides across the foothills and road closures across the Sierra passes.
The Sacramento County area was particularly hard hit, with emergency crews spending the weekend rescuing multiple flood victims by boats and helicopter and responding to fallen trees and disabled vehicles in the flood waters, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said.
“Stormageddon” was the nickname given to this storm by the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, which said that flooding, mudslides and trees blocking roads have been reported.
Highway 50 Reopened after a Second Day of Winter Storms in the Sacramento and Mammoth Mountain Ski Resorts, According to a Sacramento County Pedestrian’s Report
Hours after a section between Pollock Pines and Meyers was closed due to flooding from the American River, Highway 50 was reopened just after midnight.
The California Department of Transportation stated that it was partially closed near the Nevada line due to multiple spin outs.
In Sacramento County and adjacent areas, residents were advised to avoid travel as wind gusts of up to 55 mph toppled trees and covered roads with debris, according to a tweet from the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
The state of emergency was declared because of the atmospheric river which has caused transportation impacts, rising creek and river levels and flooding.
The weather service warned that travel could be very difficult to impossible in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which are under a winter storm warning.
The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab said there were 7.5 inches of snow per hour during the day on Saturday.
Over a foot of new snow fell at Mammoth Mountain’s Main Lodge Saturday, the ski resort said on Facebook, adding that work will take place across the mountain since all lifts were coated in ice and “avalanche danger is extremely high.”
At the Nevada State line and Colfax, CHP reported “dangerous and treacherous” driving conditions with dozens of vehicles stuck on the I-80 and county roads.
One person was found dead in a submerged vehicle in the storm and a second man was hit by a tree while at a Santa Cruz park, according to officials.
A California tornado watchdog warned against flooding with tornadoes and hail on Monday night in the Mokelumne and Cosumnes Rivers
Parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas are at risk of storms with damaging winds, tornadoes and hail on Monday. The storms are expected to last through the night.
On Sunday night, the community of Point Pleasant was ordered to leave due to imminent flooding that would become “incredibly dangerous” after sunset.
“It is expected that the flooding from the Cosumnes River and the Mokelumne River is moving southwest toward I-5 and could reach these areas in the middle of the night,” the agency tweeted.
Aerial video from CNN affiliate KCRA showed cars submerged past their doorhandles in flood waters from Highway 99 and the Dillard Street area. Chris Schamber, a fire captain for the Cosumnes Fire Department, told the station many people had been rescued.
The situation could get worse before it gets better for people who are currently reeling from floods and mudslides in Northern California.
It’s the third atmospheric river to hit the region in less than a month. The NWS also says the storm’s high winds could inflict severe damage in areas where the soil is already saturated with rainwater.
Around 39% of electricity accounts in California and 20% in Nevada were without power at midday Monday.
On Sunday, Sacramento’s Mary Spencer-Gode and other residents gaped at the damage on their street, where the storm toppled a massive elm tree on New Year’s Eve.
“The wind was just going crazy,” she told Capital Public Radio. We turned our TV off and I heard a big noise in the kitchen that kind of moved the house.
High Impact Weather in Southern California During the Mid-Atmospheric Riverfall and the Riddles of Damping Grasslands
NWS senior forecaster Bob Oravec recently told NPR that a narrow area of high water can be transported away from the tropics towards the higher latitudes before a cold front arrives.
The precipitation can be extreme: A single atmospheric river “can carry more water than the Mississippi River at its mouth,” as NPR has reported. Forecasters have long warned that the systems’ winds are very dangerous. In 2017, one of the storms toppled the legendary “Pioneer Cabin Tree” sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
“This is really going to help a lot with the short-term drought in Northern California, perhaps even erase short-term drought conditions, but it’s going to take a lot more to completely obviate the longer term, multi-year drought impacts,” Swain said, emphasizing that Wednesday’s atmospheric event will be a “high-impact storm.”
The NWS said that the atmospheric river could bring up to 3 inches of rain in the Central Valley with up to 6 inches in the foothills. In addition, a strong low-level jet stream will bring wind gusts of 35-50 mph in the valley and foothills, with winds hitting 60 mph in the mountains.
“The most intense part of this weather event will occur later this evening and last through noon Thursday,” the NWS office in Los Angeles said. “A slow moving cold front will entrain the moisture from a moderate atmospheric river.”
Along with flooding, the risk of mudslides is especially high in sites of recent wildfires, where there’s no longer enough ground cover to absorb and retain moisture.
Sacramento Counties ARE undergoing bombogenesis with a devastating midlatitude cyclone: The impact of a drought and extreme precipitation during the last five years
As the system arrives, many areas will also be confronted with the effects of a bomb cyclone: The powerful system was seen “undergoing bombogenesis” off California’s northern coast, the NWS office in Sacramento said on Wednesday, referring to the rapid intensification of a midlatitude cyclone.
The storm could cause floods, roads washing out, hillside collapses, fallen trees, major power outages and likely the loss of human life according to the National Weather Service.
This dramatic swing in periods of drought and high precipitation, or weather whiplash, can occur more often and become more intense under a rapidly warming climate. If humans continue to release gases into the atmosphere, scientists say the chances of sudden transitions in California will be much higher.
“The face of droughts is changing,” Swain said. “It’s easier and easier to get into a drought – even following a really wet winter – because we just have that growing evaporative demand and hotter summers.”
Julie Kalansky, a climate scientist at the National Weather Service in San Diego, said that these storms were needed more than ever in order to alleviate the lack of water in some areas.
Even though we haven’t seen the mega floods, we have definitely seen hints of increasingly extreme precipitation in the middle of a period characterized by a very intense and persistent dry spell.
Despite this wet start to the year, the state was still reeling from its disastrous Drought of the past years, and last year was a bit more wet around this time.
“We anticipate that this may be one of the most challenging and impactful series of storms to touch down in California in the last five years,” said Nancy Ward, the new director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, at a late-morning news conference about the threat.
Weather experts warned people in their coverage areas on Wednesday to prepare for potential power outages, and for travel to be threatened by high winds, debris and felled trees and power lines.