California is facing another round of heavy rain, damaging wind, and significant amounts of snow as a potent atmospheric river hits the state.
The latest computer guidance suggests that the atmospheric river will be even warmer and wetter than previously forecast, leading the National Weather Service to issue an “extreme” risk of flash flooding for the Southern Sierra Nevada and the central California coast range south of Monterey.
This is the highest risk that NWS officials can issue, and it accounts for two out of every five flood-related deaths in the Continental U.S.
For the lowlands, several inches of rain could bring widespread flood alerts and mudslide concerns, while new snowfall totals in the highest elevations could reach 100 inches, and ridgetop wind gusts could climb over 100 mph.
California’s coastal regions and valleys could see 2-3 inches of rain, and the lower elevations of the mountains could see 3-5 inches of rain instead of snow this time.
The snow level is going to be more than perhaps 8,000 feet through the Sierra, which is significant as warmer air combines with the heavy rain and lingering snowpack to add melting snow to the flooding threats.
Officials in multiple counties are offering sandbag stations for residents, and state agencies are already warning residents about the potential runoff, which could lead to mudslides, flash flooding on roadways, and swift-moving drainage canals and rivers.
Up to 100 inches of snow looms for higher Sierra Nevada elevations again, and Winter Storm Warnings signal as much as 2-4 feet of new snow is expected above 7,000 feet.
Damaging wind gusts could also knock out power.
While the heaviest rains will continue to fall Thursday night and Friday, rain and mountain snow will linger into the weekend. The current storm fades into early Saturday, but more storms loom for Sunday and then possibly again early next week.
»California faces flash flood risk«
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