DailyExpertNews
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A strong storm system bringing heavy rains, mountain snow and hurricane-force winds 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, stormy weather in the coming days .
All 11 western states have winter weather warnings on Wednesday, with about half a million people along the higher elevations of the Rockies under high wind warnings as gusts can reach Category 1 hurricane strength. According to PowerOutage.us, parts of Oregon, Washington and California have already lost power.
The region is being inundated by an atmospheric river — a long, narrow region of the atmosphere that can carry moisture thousands of miles — as much of the eastern U.S. recovers from a deadly winter storm that left large parts of the country under dangerously cold temperatures. abandoned.
In the west, a first round of lashing rain, wind and snow has moved inland and is expected to flood intermountain areas on Wednesday. While coastal states may experience a brief lull on Wednesday, more rain and snow is predicted to move across the country by the end of the week.
Avalanche warnings have been issued for parts of Idaho, Colorado, Montana and California due to strong winds combined with heavy snowfall.
Winds on Tuesday whipped above 100 mph in some cities, reaching Category 2 hurricane levels. A gust of 107 mph was reported in Mount Hood, Oregon, and a gust of 104 mph was recorded in North Bonneville, Washington. Winds between 80 and 90 mph were reported in several cities on Tuesday, including a gust of 90 mph in Walker, California.
“This uncertain weather pattern is expected to continue into the coming weekend,” the National Weather Center said.
This week, the West will experience several more wet spells, bringing temporary relief to a region suffering from prolonged drought.
California’s snow pack could benefit from the storms. According to the California Department of Water Resources, the critical water resource that suffered from severe drought was over 150% of normal levels late last week.
Now widespread showers of 2 to 4 inches are expected in the region through Sunday, with isolated areas reaching 6 inches. Up to 7 inches of rain could fall in Northern California, with isolated higher amounts.
The first wave will affect parts of Southern California and the Four Corners region, including parts of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Low-elevation rainfall and high-elevation snowfall will move out of California late Wednesday morning and remain in the Four Corners area through Thursday.
The avalanche warnings are in effect as lower elevations in the west could see five-day snowfall totals of 2 to 8 inches, with some areas getting as much as a foot. More mountainous elevations are expected to receive 1 to 3 feet of snowfall, with isolated areas exceeding 3 feet.
