The catastrophic bomb cyclone that caused flooding rain, debris flows, devastating winds, and gigantic waves in California this week has faded off the West Coast, but a series of further atmospheric river storms will continue to pummel the Golden State until next week.
At least two deaths were attributed to this week’s storm in the San Francisco Bay Area. Wednesday, a toddler was murdered inside a home struck by a falling redwood tree in the rural Sonoma County community of Occidental, according to firemen. In Fairfield, around 65 miles to the east, a 19-year-old woman was killed when her vehicle hydroplaned on a partially flooded road and collided with a utility pole, according to authorities.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, there is little chance for drier conditions in California anytime soon.
Another atmospheric river will bring the next round of heavier rain to the coastal ranges of Northern California and southern Oregon on Friday afternoon. Through Sunday, this storm system will strike the region.
The precipitation might become hazardous and result in sporadic incidents of flash floods. The steady flow of rainfall channeled out of the tropical Pacific Ocean will continue through Saturday, and the rain will reach Central California gradually by Sunday.
Additional rainfall of 3 to 6 inches, with locally greater amounts expected, could exacerbate flooding problems in an area that has been extremely saturated.
In addition, the Sierra Nevada mountain range and Northern California will have further rounds of heavy snowfall at higher elevations. On Saturday, the heaviest snowfall is expected to continue over the mountains of Northern California before moving south on Sunday.
A more intense atmospheric river storm is anticipated early next week
From Sunday night through Tuesday, another powerful atmospheric river will bring even more rain to California.
Britta Merwin, a meteorologist for FOX Weather, stated, “We have a ridge of high pressure off the coast of Baja, Mexico, which is funneling tropical moisture from the Pacific into the Northwest and also acting as a conveyor belt for areas of low pressure from the Pacific to enter the region.”
California will continue to experience severe river storms in the atmosphere.
Fox Climate
In contrast to the storm this weekend, which will be concentrated in Northern and Central California, the one early next week will impact the whole Golden State. Flooding will be a serious risk from the California-Oregon border to the Los Angeles Basin due to heavy precipitation.
This is due to the fact that this storm will have abundant moisture to work with, and the FOX Forecast Center has warned that it is becoming increasingly likely that the flooding may be significantly more severe than anything experienced during the previous assault of storms.
Given the saturated soils, streams and creeks could swiftly flood, and all the water could eventually lead major rivers to rise to levels that would bring extensive flooding throughout the northern part of California.
California will be hit by another another storm later next week.
As if that weren’t enough, California will likely get another another round of rain and snow later next week.
Northern California’s lower altitudes are predicted to receive between 4 and 8 inches of extra precipitation between this weekend and the end of next week, per the FOX Forecast Center. Along the coastal ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills, an additional 10 to 20 inches of precipitation is probable over that time period.
Even Southern California might receive an additional 1 to 4 inches of precipitation at lower levels, and as much as 8 inches in the mountains surrounding the Los Angeles Basin.
Merwin stated that the seven-day rainfall estimate takes into account various storms, some of which will provide heavy precipitation.
In the meantime, the Sierra Nevada’s higher elevations will likely receive 2 feet or more of snow, and potentially as much as 10 feet in areas that receive the most continuous and heavy snowfall.
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