El Niño is about to deliver another unhealthy dose of wild weather to California.
Three distinct storms, each more impactful than the last, will hit the West Coast starting Wednesday and continue into next week, the FOX Forecast Center said. This is not welcome news for a state recently ravaged by dangerous weather.
“Wave by wave, opportunity by opportunity. It just stacks up,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “The first one will probably be just fine, but as we work our way through the weekend, more issues will pop up. The snow up the mountains will be epic. Be careful with weekend travel, and then also travel coming back after a ski weekend with another storm on the way.”
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The first storm system will arrive from the Pacific Ocean and bring in a new surge of moisture and areas of locally heavy precipitation. This will include heavy rain in the coastal ranges of the Pacific Northwest and down into northern California.
Locally, a few inches of rain can be expected, mainly in Oregon. In California, the rain will be confined to northern California and remain light enough, whereas no flooding is expected.
NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has issued a level 1 out 4 risk for flash flooding along the Northern California coast.
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Farther inland over the higher terrain of the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, this precipitation will fall as heavy snow. Going through Thursday, as much as 1 to 2 feet of new snow with isolated heavier amounts can be expected, and Winter Storm Warnings are in effect.
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A big sprawling area of low pressure spinning in the Gulf of Alaska will bring the second round of rain onto the West Coast on Saturday, the FOX Forecast Center said.
Unlike the first system, the rain will extend to Southern California, but like the first system, rain totals should remain light enough to preclude significant flooding concerns. Another 1-2 feet of snow will fall in the Sierra Nevada.
The NWS has issued a level 2 out 4 risk for flash flooding along the Northern California coast.
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The final and most impactful storm will impact California starting Sunday night as a slow-moving Pacific storm sends a major atmospheric river toward the state, the FOX Forecast Center said.
This storm could deliver torrential rain, leading to major flooding, landslides and rock falls.
“That last wallop, that’s going to be early next week,” Merwin said. “We’re going to have a lot more instability … It’s that kind of a setup that I wouldn’t be shocked if we were talking about thunderstorms and severe weather in California at the beginning of next week.”
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Of particular concern, some forecast models show the storm essentially stalling off the coast, which could keep the rain and snow falling through the middle of the week.
Strong winds and maybe even the threat of power outages could threaten the region once again.
“Even though rain amounts with this storm may end up lower than the last storm [from earlier in February], significant storm-related impacts are still expected,” NWS forecasters in Los Angeles said. “Streams and small rivers will rise quickly (likely even faster due to the antecedent conditions), trees will be more prone to falling even with lower wind speeds, mud and rocks slides are almost a guarantee in the hills and mountains, and area roads will be very hazardous, especially during periods of heavier rain. Residents are encouraged to begin storm preparations as soon as possible before the rain starts.”
It’s too early to determine the exact impacts, but the FOX Forecast Center warns Californians to prepare now for what appears to be a concerning stretch of weather.