Millions of Californians had already been hit hard by heavy snowfall when a new storm hit on Thursday. Torrential rain threatened to cause dangerous flooding, and the Weather Prediction Center raised its outlook for areas of the state to a level 4 of 4 for excessive rainfall.
“If you have feet of snow on your roof, all of a sudden that’s going to get very, very heavy. That snow is going to absorb the rainfall,” CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers warned Thursday. “Then, at higher elevations, some of that snowfall will be washed away. So, parts of the San Joaquin Valley will start to fill up as rain falls on snow.
About 16.7 million people in California and parts of Nevada are under a flood watch. From Thursday night to Friday morning, the amount of rain that falls per hour in California will steadily get worse, possibly reaching 1 inch per hour.
The level 4 excessive rainfall warning is for two parts of central California on Thursday night and Friday: the coast from Salinas south to San Luis Obispo and the foothills of the Sierras near Fresno. The National Weather Service office in San Francisco said that the last time the Bay Area and Central Coast were in “high risk” was in 2010.
Thursday and Friday, there is a chance that it will rain too much in a lot of the state. Thursday and Friday, an atmospheric river will bring unusually wet weather to California. Flooding will happen because of heavy rain and fast snow melt below 5,000 feet, the prediction center said Wednesday, adding that “many” floods are likely for millions of people.
The prediction center said that creeks and streams in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada are most likely to flood when it rains or snow melts. Higher up, there will be wet, heavy snow. The prediction center said, “This will make it hard to get around, and if added to an already deep snowpack, it could lead to more damage from the snow’s depth and weight.”
Officials in central and northern California told people to get ready because of the bad forecast. In one area, people were told to stock up on food and other necessities for two weeks. Others were told to protect their homes with sandbags and clear their waterways to lessen the damage from flooding.
“We are asking people to watch their news, stay informed, have a full tank of gas in case they need to evacuate, get snow off of their roof if they can, if it’s safe,” Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis told CNN on Thursday. “And just be very vigilant and prepared, because we are in the era of extreme weather, and that’s what we are seeing this week.”
• Heavy rain: The National Weather Service in San Francisco says that until Sunday morning, most urban areas will get between 1.5 and 3 inches of rain, while some hilly areas will get between 3 and 6 inches. Up to 8 inches could fall in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and some peaks and higher ground in the Santa Lucia Mountains could get up to 12 inches.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles says that Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties will get between 2 and 4 inches of rain by Friday night. Some parts of San Luis Obispo County could get as much as 10 inches. The Weather Prediction Center said, “The snow will melt quickly as the unusually warm and wet weather moves in.”
Millions of Californians had already been hit hard by heavy snowfall when a new storm hit on Thursday. Torrential rain threatened to cause dangerous flooding, and the Weather Prediction Center raised its outlook for areas of the state to a level 4 of 4 for excessive rainfall.
“If you have feet of snow on your roof, all of a sudden that’s going to get very, very heavy. That snow is going to absorb the rainfall,” CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers warned Thursday.
Then, at higher elevations, some of that snowfall will be washed away. So, parts of the San Joaquin Valley will start to fill up as rain falls on snow. About 16.7 million people in California and parts of Nevada are under a flood watch. From Thursday night to Friday morning, the amount of rain that falls per hour in California will steadily get worse, possibly reaching 1 inch per hour.
The level 4 excessive rainfall warning is for two parts of central California on Thursday night and Friday: the coast from Salinas south to San Luis Obispo and the foothills of the Sierras near Fresno. The National Weather Service office in San Francisco said that the last time the Bay Area and Central Coast were in “high risk” was in 2010.
Thursday and Friday, there is a chance that it will rain too much in a lot of the state. Thursday and Friday, an atmospheric river will bring unusually wet weather to California. Flooding will happen because of heavy rain and fast snow melt below 5,000 feet, the prediction center said Wednesday, adding that “many” floods are likely for millions of people.
The prediction center said that creeks and streams in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada are most likely to flood when it rains or snow melts. Higher up, there will be wet, heavy snow. The prediction center said, “This will make it hard to get around, and if added to an already deep snowpack, it could lead to more damage from the snow’s depth and weight.”
Officials in central and northern California told people to get ready because of the bad forecast. In one area, people were told to stock up on food and other necessities for two weeks. Others were told to protect their homes with sandbags and clear their waterways to lessen the damage from flooding.
“We are asking people to watch their news, stay informed, have a full tank of gas in case they need to evacuate, get snow off of their roof if they can, if it’s safe,” Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis told CNN on Thursday. “And just be very vigilant and prepared, because we are in the era of extreme weather, and that’s what we are seeing this week.”
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Here’s what could happen during the storm:
• Heavy rain: The National Weather Service in San Francisco says that until Sunday morning, most urban areas will get between 1.5 and 3 inches of rain, while some hilly areas will get between 3 and 6 inches. Up to 8 inches could fall in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and some peaks and higher ground in the Santa Lucia Mountains could get up to 12 inches.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles says that Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties will get between 2 and 4 inches of rain by Friday night. Some parts of San Luis Obispo County could get as much as 10 inches. The Weather Prediction Center said, “The snow will melt quickly as the unusually warm and wet weather moves in.”
• Ferocious winds: More than 15 million people across central and Northern California, northern Nevada and southwestern Idaho are under high wind alerts. Wind gusts could reach up to 70 mph on peaks and mountains and up to 55 mph at lower elevations. Strong winds could knock down power lines and trees – exacerbating thousands of existing power outages from previous storms that dumped heavy snow, particularly in higher elevations.
• More intense snow: the Sierra Nevada could get 8 feet of snow in places above 8,000 feet. And between Thursday and Friday, it could snow 2 feet in some high places in southern Oregon and the Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
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