Forecasts for Portland and the Northern Sky for May 3 through 3 pm PST, with an additional 110 mph tornadoes expected across the Southeast and Lower Mississippi Valley

The atmospheric river is a cloud of water off the Pacific Ocean. It shoots water into a single area for an extended time, causing a lot of rain or snow.

“There’s going to be enough snow combining with the wind to create treacherous driving conditions at a minimum,” said Mike Bardou, a forecaster at the NWS office in Chicago. “Significant blowing and drifting is going to be possible to a level that people may get stuck in drifts and then perhaps be stranded in now bitterly cold temperatures.”

California’s snowpack could benefit from the storms. The vital source of water for the state of California had more than half of normal levels late last week.

“Strong, possibly damaging, winds…with gusts as high as 60 mph” are forecast for the Portland metro & Willamette Valley through at least 3 pm PST, according to the NWS in Portland. There is a forecast of 50 to 70 mph along the coast.

Up to 4 feet (1 meter) of snow was forecast at elevations above 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) with gusts up to 100 mph.

On roads and highways from Wyoming to Missouri, wind and snow combined to lower visibility, making it was dangerous to drive. Officials in multiple states, including Colorado and Illinois, urged drivers to avoid travel if at all possible.

Matthew said that tornadoes are more likely across the Southeast and Lower Mississippi Valley in the fall and winter, compared to the springtime.

A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Texas and Oklahoma until 4 a.m. A couple of tornadoes are possible, as well as ping-pong-sized hail and wind gusts up to 75 mph.

“The details regarding the areas most at risk from tornadoes will become clearer as the event approaches and smaller-scale trends become more evident,” Elliott said.

Snow and Snowfall Warnings for the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, California, and Sacramento, Calif., A Big Storm, After Several Years of Dry Weather

Winter storm warnings were in place overnight for the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, where an additional foot of snow could fall in the highest elevations before 4 a.m.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation closed stretches of Interstate 80 and Interstate 76 in western as heavy snow and high winds made travel dangerous. Several crashes and semitrailers jackknifed overnight, prompting the Nebraska State Patrol to tell people to stay off the roads.

The U.S. Forest Service issued an avalanche warning for the backcountry in the mountains west of Lake Tahoe where it said “several feet of new snow and strong winds will result in dangerous avalanche conditions.”

The weather service issued a flash flood warning on Saturday when inches of rain fell on burn scars left by wildfires south of Monterey and farther south of Big Sur.

More than 30,000 customers were without power in the Sacramento area at one point Saturday morning, but it was restored to all but a few hundred late in the day. The drivers and passengers of five cars that had been trapped between downed power lines escaped unharmed, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The San Francisco Bay Area had power problems and trees that damaged cars and homes. Firefighters were called to several reports of trees falling into homes in Monte Rio, which is situated along the Russian River in Sonoma County.

Monte Rio Fire Department Chief Steve Baxman told KRON-TV that four different down trees had damaged houses in the area and that no injuries were reported.

This is our first big storm and we have had several years of dry weather. They’re filling up with water and starting to topple over, according to Baxman.

The Sierra Snow Storm Decay: It’s a Snowstorm to remember, and it’s to be a Story to Remember

In the Sierra, there is 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow already on the ground, and more is on the way.

The storm blanketed some mountain areas of drought-parched California with thick snow, including Soda Springs in the northern part of the state, which received 60 inches of snow in 48 hours.

The National Weather Service office in Reno expected the snowpack to be 2% of normal, so it is more than that.

It seems like Christmas out here. It didn’t come with a lot of wind, and stuck to everything. It’s like a picture postcard.”

He was pleased with the snowtotals so far, but is cautiously optimistic that this precipitation will make a big difference in the state’s dry spell.

“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.

It is definitely a storm to remember. We received 7.5 feet of snow since December 1st. We received more than 35 inches of snow from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, making it the 6th largest snowfall total on record.

North Dakota Weather Warnings and Tropical Storms from the Farmerville, South Dakota, Office of the North Dakota Department of Transportation and the State of Minnesota

The National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota stated that travel through the area will be nearly impossible on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The South Dakota Department of transportation warned Monday that it could become impossible to travel in the state if the Interstates are not open.

In Minnesota, the National Weather Service issued various winter weather alerts, including a winter storm warning, an ice storm warning and a winter weather advisory. The Minnesota Department of Transport said in a statement on Monday that the weather could affect travel throughout the week.

According to the spokesman for the mayor’s office, the storms that have hit the city over the past week brought between 30 and 45 inches of snow.

The areas need the water and have been given a boost by it in recent days. In Tennessee, the percentage of the state under dry conditions went from almost all of them to just over half this week.

There were no deaths or injuries due to the tornado. It was evident from the start that the damage was widespread in the town of Wayne.

The National Weather Service reported that Farmerville was the location of a tornado with 140 mph winds. The tornado destroyed parts of an apartment complex and a mobile home park and at least 20 people were injured, according to a Farmerville Police Detective.

Dozens of tornadoes were reported from Louisiana to Texas to Alabama since Tuesday. The deadly storms claimed the lives of three people in Louisiana.

A ‘We Are Not kidding’ Storm” and a Volcano of Emergency Supplies at the Flying J Experiment in South Dakota

There’s essentially no one traveling right now, according to the manager at the Flying J truck stop. He said he got to work before the highways were closed and won’t be able to get home on Tuesday. I can see the doors from the first poles, but not the rest of the lot. I’ll probably just get a motel room here tonight.”

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety tweeted Monday: “This is a ‘we are not kidding’ kind of storm.” People were urged to keep a stock of essentials.

While this system moves across the country, there will be a lot of activity by the National Weather Service in Maryland.

A tour bus crashed Monday in northern Utah as the weather was cold and snowy. The bus flipped onto its side in Tremonton after the driver lost control while switching lanes, the state’s Highway Patrol said in a statement. The Highway Patrol said 23 passengers were injured, including some seriously.

New York and Boston can expect between 1 to 2 inches of heavy rain from the storm before it moves away Sunday.

The Great Wall, the Bad, the Ugly: State and Local Emergency Preparedness in the Midwest after the Decay of a Lightning-Driven Storm

“This is a life-threatening dangerous event,” Hochul said Friday afternoon at a news conference in Albany. “Protect yourselves, protect your families. Do not travel until the roads are open to traffic, you know it is safe.

Hochul asked people in the impacted areas to avoid unnecessary travel tonight and tomorrow. “Work from home if possible, stay off the roads, and make sure you and your loved ones remain vigilant.”

In neighboring Pennsylvania, state transportation officials implored drivers to avoid unnecessary travel due to the low visibility caused by wind and heavy snow.

A strong storm system bringing heavy rain, mountain snow and hurricane-force wind gusts to much of the drought-parched western United States has left more than 115,000 customers without power as the region braces for more wet, blustery weather in coming days.

Strong winds may cause power lines in the Midwest to go down, especially when there is a lot of snow. This will leave millions finding a way to stay warm as temperatures plummet to well below freezing.

And in parts of the Mid-Atlantic, the storm brought a quarter inch of ice was reported Thursday morning to the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and Maryland, and about a tenth of an inch had built up in parts of Virginia.

Powerful winds whirled by blizzard conditions knocked down power lines in the Upper Midwest as temperatures in some areas plummeted to near or below freezing, leaving thousands without proper heating.

Meanwhile in Louisiana, Yoshiko A. Smith, 30, and her 8-year-old son, Nikolus Little, were killed Tuesday when a tornado struck Caddo Parish and destroyed their home, local officials said.

The polar front bringing down snow and ice across the continental U.S. via a high-pressure system on Tuesday: A source of confusion and disruptions

The National Weather Service said the cause was a strong high pressure system that swept down from Canada on Tuesday, which is forecast to march towards the Southeast on Wednesday and Thursday.

In Idaho, Montana and Wyoming the lowlands could see up to a foot of snow on Tuesday, according to the NWS. The region could see another blast of snow and ice on Thursday.

• Dangerous wind chills: There will be a lot of cold air in the air which will cause dangerous wind chill advisories across the central and eastern US.

By Friday, temperatures could hit the season’s lowest in what is only the first week of winter. Even northern Florida cities like Jacksonville and Tallahassee could see a chill as low as 20 F on Christmas Eve.

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.

The Associated Press reported that attempts to add extra utility workers to New England ahead of a storm this week were not succesful due to slick roads.

The First Day of Winter Break: NWS High Temperature Wind Chill Alerts and Forecasts for Montana and the Dakotas from Eastern Montana to the Carolinas

The NWS warns against braving the cold due to the risk of frostbite. Subzero temperatures in some parts of the U.S. this week could lead to frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

Those going outside should cover their skin and wear layers of clothes as soon as possible. But, experts say, the best prevention by far is simply to stay indoors.

In all, more than 200 million people in the US were under wind chill alerts from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and from Washington state to Florida, with below-zero wind chills expected in the Southeast by Friday. Other winter weather alerts are in effect for blizzard conditions, ice, snow as well as flooding.

Places that will escape the snow, won’t escape the cold. Beginning Thursday morning, the cold air is expected to blanket areas from eastern Montana to the Dakotas. The wind chills in Montana and the Dakotas are 50 to 60 degrees below zero and will fall further after dark Wednesday.

It will be cold in the South. Nashville and Atlanta’s wind chill will drop to minus 11 on Saturday morning and Birmingham will feel like minus 5.

“Whiteout conditions are expected during that time with travel becoming very difficult or impossible,” said the weather service. “This event could be life-threatening if you are stranded with wind chills in the 30 below to 45 below zero range.”

The weather service office in Chicago warned of the danger of the dangerous conditions being developed quickly in the afternoon.

There’s a chance of snow in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama on Thursday. The southern cities are unlikely to see much snow, but Nashville could see a small amount.

The Central Viability of the Great Lakes during a Superstorm, and Gov. Andy Beshear, in Kentucky, declared a State of Emergency

The storm is expected to intensify into a major storm in a matter of hours, dropping 24 bars of pressure within 24 hours. As it moved towards the Great Lakes Friday morning, the storm’s pressure was expected to match that of a Category 2 Hurricane.

The storm is expected to reach the pressure equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane as it reaches the Great Lakes, with the weather service describing the strength of the low a “once-in-a-generation” event.

“This is a case in which snow totals may not tell the whole story. Poor visibility and slick spots can result from small snow amounts and very strong wind gusts. The weather service said that the sudden arrival of the conditions can increase the danger.

Governors in Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wyoming declared states of emergency. Governors in Missouri, Indiana, and Colorado activated the National Guard.

The declaration will help “ensure that essential supplies, especially propane can be delivered for both commercial and residential needs,” the governor told reporters.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also declared a state of emergency, with wind gusts expected to reach 40 to 50 mph on Friday and minus 10 to minus 26 degrees wind chills expected on Saturday. Beshear wants residents to stay off the roads and to have a backup heat source.

Jackson and Birmingham will both be below freezing on Friday and Monday. Between Thursday and Saturday, Houston could be below freezing for 46 hours.

A Winter Storm Holiday Traveler’s Perspective on Kansas City and the State’s Public Utility Commission, a State Advisory Council Advised by President Biden

“This is really a very serious weather alert here,” said President Biden, speaking to reporters Thursday morning in front of a national map of wind chill forecasts. “This is not like a snowy day when you were a kid.” This is serious stuff.”

In Texas, where a 2021 winter storm overwhelmed the state’s power grid and ultimately killed more than 200 people, officials said they expected the grid would hold up as forecasts called for cold weather but little precipitation.

“The grid is ready and reliable,” said Peter Lake, chairman of the state’s Public Utility Commission, in a Wednesday news conference. We are expecting to have sufficient generation to meet demand throughout the winter weather event.

City officials stressed that crews were working around the clock to keep flights moving at the city’s major airports, O’Hare and Midway, both of which serve as hubs for major airlines.

“These hard-working individuals will have at their disposal more than 350 pieces of snow removal equipment, more than 400,000 gallons of liquid deicer for runways and taxiways, and more than 5,000 tons of salt,” said Andrew Velasquez, the city’s deputy aviation commissioner.

Hundreds of miles away in Kansas City, the winter weather brought only an inch or two of snow. But temperatures were expected to remain below freezing for days, putting a strain on the city’s homeless services.

Several area shelters have added beds this week and many are currently at or near capacity. Instead, some people sought shelter on the city’s streetcar, which was operating Thursday after crews had worked from 4 a.m. to clear the route and platforms.

“The library is closed. Pete said he didn’t have a place to live and didn’t want to give his last name, but said he would be kicked out if he went into a parking garage. “There’s not much you can do.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/22/1144970060/winter-storm-holiday-travel

Weather-related deaths in northeastern Montana: A rancher in Dillon, Missouri, and a Kansas City man killed in an embankment

The sun was out in Montana on Thursday, as the snow moved to the Midwest. The frigid temperatures won’t thaw until the weekend, forecasts say.

It’s nothing new in Montana, this winter is kind of a worse winter than we’ve seen in the last few years. It’s been a long time since we’ve been running cattle, so we know how to get through things like this.

Hank Willemsma, a rancher near Dillon, where Thursday’s high temperature was expected to reach minus 13 degrees, said he’d be working through the cold to keep hay out for his cattle.

Additional reporting by NPR in Chicago, Montana Public Radio in Butte, and KCUR in Kansas City.

All modes of travel – planes, trains and automobiles – were being disrupted: There were hundreds of miles of road closures and flight cancellations were growing rapidly. In New York, flooding along the Long Island Rail Road forced part of the Long Beach branch to temporarily shut down.

Mick is from Buffalo, New York and he said that Christmas is canceled due to the weather conditions. “All family and friends agreed it’s safer this way.”

One of the three people who died in north-central Kansas on Wednesday night has been confirmed as weather-related, but there are two others who need more investigation, said the Kansas Highway Patrol.

In Kansas City, one person died after losing control of their car on the icy roads. Police said that the Dodge went down an embankment, over a wall and landed upside down in Brush Creek.

On Friday, January 17, 2002, a High-Surface Snowstorm and High-Year-Low Visibility for the U.S.

The National Weather Service said Thursday that it depicts one of the largest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever.

Hochul said at a press conference Friday that the storm was throwing everything at him but the kitchen sink. We had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures and everything Mother Nature could conjure up this weekend.

For Brian Trzeciak, the storm was “living up to the warnings” at his home in Hamburg, New York. The airport in Buffalo reported no visibility after noon on Friday.

His mother and her family are 30 minutes away and also in the other direction. We all get together for Christmas Eve and Christmas, but we are hunkering down in our houses for the rest of the week.

There have been nearly 5,300 canceled Friday flights as of 7:30 p.m.

Friday will be the most cold day in history for large swaths of the US, including from the Lower Mississippi Valley, northeastward into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys and stretching across large sections of the east from the Southeast.

• Whiteout conditions: Blizzard conditions may exist even if snowfall stops, because high winds can pick up snow already on the ground and cause low visibility.

A winter storm warning is in place for western Washington. There is a possibility of up to 2 inches of additional snow and ice. Precipitation will begin as snow and transition to sleet/freezing rain and then finally to rain. Travel will be difficult, because more power outages are likely.

Half of the flights going into and out of the airport were canceled, due to ice closing the runways at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sound Transit, a regional transportation network in the Seattle area, was shut down Friday due to the icy conditions.

The Tennessee Valley Authority says winter storm travel is dangerous conditions for power outages, as reported by at least six killed in vehicular pileups

At least six people were reportedly killed in vehicle crashes, with at least four dead in a massive pileup on the Ohio Turnpike involving about 50 vehicles.

WPLN’s Farmer reported gusts of wind knocked out power to thousands of homes in Tennessee and Kentucky as part of the cold front that hit the South. People were asked to stay home by emergency responders.

The power grid is not used to the cold and the Tennessee Valley Authority wants utilities to cut electricity use. Customers in Nashville will experience 10-minute outages every few hours, until the power load stabilizes.

Scott Aaronson, the vice president of security and preparedness, says getting the power back on is a challenge even in good weather.

“Sometimes accessing these areas can be really challenging with downed power lines, with downed trees, with very icy roads. Is that true? Crews cannot go up in bucket trucks if the wind is higher than 35 miles an hour,” Aaronson said. The ability of crews to get out there and get the power back on is limited by a combination of things.

Flooding surging as high as 9 feet along the coast in New Jersey was caused by heavy rains and high winds. Interior locations along the Hudson River also flooded.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/24/1145419116/winter-storm-travel-power-outage-dangerous-conditions

Los Angeles, Washington, and California Power Outage.us Observation of Bulk Rain, Snow and Wind for a New Record-breaking December Day

Many people are going to miss connecting flights due to the delays, but that is really affecting anyone who has a connecting flight.

All 11 Western states are expecting rain or snow, with the heaviest impacts predicted for California. By mid-afternoon Tuesday, the rain, snow and wind had already knocked out power to over 130,000 customers in Oregon, as well as 28,000 in Washington state and 22,000 in California according to poweroutage.us.

Some trees could be knocked down due to the strong winds in Portland.

The heat domes that cause damage to trees are due to the fact that they take up too much of the trees energy to fight off pathogens.

Portland recorded 2.12 inches of rain, breaking the old record of 1.08 inches set on December 26, 1996. The third-rainiest December day in Portland was on Monday.

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 said goodbye to the warmth. “Big drop in temperatures on track between today and tomorrow (Tuesday). Expect a 15-20 degree cooling during the storm system.