After a wild”bomb cyclone” hit the Pacific Northwest with dangerous winds Northern California and Southwestern Oregon will now experience heavy rain showers and snow at high elevations on Wednesday.
More than a foot of rain is forecast through Friday, potentially causing life-threatening flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows, according to the National Weather Service.
The accumulated moisture comes from a atmospheric riverwhich is known to cause extreme rain and snowfall in the West. These atmospheric regions, also called “rivers in the sky,” function similar to rivers on the surface, but can carry much more water than the Mississippi River.
Forecasters warn that the heavy rain and snow at high altitudes will come in two successive systems, one peaking on Wednesday night and the other peaking on Thursday evening. Rainfall of 12 to 16 inches is possible, according to the weather service.
Sustained heavy rain from an atmospheric river will result in precipitation totals of 12 to 16 inches in far northern California and far southwestern Oregon through Friday. Dangerous flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows are likely.
Visit for your latest, local… pic.twitter.com/UKY9Zcekyj— National Weather Service (@NWS) November 20, 2024
The first wave will continue to bring heavy rain along the Northern California coast and southwestern Oregon through Thursday morning. The second will peak along the Northern California coast, while a moderate risk exists along the northern Sierra areas.
“The storm is just getting started,” meteorologist Rich Otto of the NWS Weather Prediction Center told USA TODAY. “The biggest wave is Thursday. We expect 25 to 45 centimeters of rain on Friday; even 50 centimeters in some places.”
A “Pineapple Express” weather system, or atmospheric river storm, moves toward the U.S. West Coast in a composite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-West weather satellite on Feb. 4, 2024.
Blizzard conditions forecast in Cascades, far northern California
Heavy wet snow will cause blizzards and blizzards in the Cascades in far northern California, and in parts of Oregon and Washington, the weather service warned. Snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour and wind gusts of up to 60 mph can make travel nearly impossible.
Rain at lower elevations and mountain snow will spread inland toward the northern Great Basin and northern Rockies through Friday, the weather service forecast.
Locally, heavy snow will likely be concentrated on mountains in central Idaho and along the northern U.S. border.
Weather map of California
Weather map of Oregon
Bomb cyclone kills two women in Seattle suburbs
Strong winds caused by the “bomb cyclone” have proven deadly in the Pacific Northwest after falling trees killed two women in Seattle’s southeastern suburbs.
High winds also led to power outages for nearly half a million homes and businesses in Washington state, which also faced forecasts of dangerous rain, flooding and snow in the region. Seattle had its highest number of outages since 2006 The Seattle Times reports this.
Similar to a winter hurricane, the ‘bomb cyclone’ has produced winds of up to 120 km per hour, downing trees, blocking roads and destroying homes. Once the storm passes, the region will still experience days of rain, flooding and snow at higher elevations, according to the weather service.
National weather map
National weather radar
Contributions: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Doyle Rice, and Jorge L. Ortiz
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California Snow Forecast: Atmospheric River Will Cause Dangerous Flooding
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