SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For the second weekend in a row, travelers will find exceedingly tricky weather conditions during any attempts to traverse many of the main mountain passes along the West Coast. Meanwhile, those in the lowlands are looking at a drenching rain that could even be heavy enough to trigger flooding.
Thursday’s storm system served as a quick appetizer, but the weekend storm is expected to be more potent with even more rain and mountain snow to the region, with precipitation again expanding from north to south across the California lowlands and valleys.
HOW TO DRIVE IN ICY CONDITIONS
The higher terrain could be blasted with whiteout conditions through Sunday, with blistering winds and heavy snow that could measure 3 to 5 feet by the time the storm is done.
“The snow potential for this storm is massive,” FOX Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “And if you are one who loves to be snowed in and likes to go up to the mountains and enjoy that fresh powder, be smart with your timeline so you can get up there before the snow starts to happen.”
Winter Storm Warnings now stretch across the entire Sierra while also covering the Siskiyous through Sunday in the north, with warnings lingering into Monday morning farther south along the Sierra.
The FOX Forecast Center said the storm is tapping into some subtropical moisture that will allow for intense precipitation and heavy snowfall. Traveling over the Sierra Nevada will be difficult and may become impossible.
Heavy snow is expected to accumulate along Siskiyous, with blizzard conditions bringing 10 to 22 inches of snow and 45-plus-mph winds, even to Interstate 5.
WHAT MAKES A BLIZZARD DIFFERENT FROM AN ORDINARY SNOWSTORM?
Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour over an 18- to 24-hour period are possible over the Sierra Nevada. Snowfall predictions include 18 to 28 inches around Lake Tahoe, with 2 to 4 feet likely above 7,000 feet. Predictions reach 3 to 4 feet, with localized areas reaching 5 feet, farther south along the Sierra’s spine, including the Yosemite area.
Meanwhile, wind gusts will easily reach 60 to 70 mph along the higher elevations, with gusts over 100 mph likely on the Sierra ridgetops creating whiteout conditions.
Chains will likely remain required when the passes are open, though if last weekend’s snowstorm is any indication, expect frequent and potentially extended closures of the major cross-Sierra highways.
“It’s going to be gnarly out there,” Merwin said.
Snow will slowly taper through the day Sunday, but enough snow showers will linger for continued difficulties in pass travel.
“Travel across the Sierra is not recommended this weekend,” said National Weather Service forecasters in Reno, Nevada. “If you choose to do so, make sure to have proper supplies and plan for long delays.”
YOU WERE JUST INVOLVED IN A WEATHER-RELATED CRASH – NOW WHAT?
In the California lowlands, several inches of rain is likely near the coast to the Mexico border, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
The heaviest totals are likely along the Northern California coast, reaching 2 to 4 inches, with isolated totals reaching 7 inches in the northern coastal hills. Rainfall rates could reach a half-inch per hour, triggering flash flooding, especially along recent burn-scar areas.
HOW WILDFIRE BURN SCARS COULD HAVE LASTING IMPACTS
The FOX Forecast Center expects 1 to 3 inches of rain along the coastal mountains, with over an inch likely in the Bay Area.
Even the Los Angeles and San Diego basins have a flash flooding potential and are expected to get rainfall totals of up to 1 to 2 inches in the metro areas and higher amounts of 3 to 5 inches in the surrounding hills.
Heavy snow will also fall across the Cascades of Washington and Oregon, where 1 to 3 feet of snow appears likely through Sunday, with travel impacts expected.
California will dry out for at least a few days as the new workweek begins, and the major storm shifts east into the Intermountain West and Rockies on Monday, where 1 to 3 feet of snow is expected from the storm.
“That’s still a huge snow,” Merwin said. “So all the way through the weekend and into early next week, we are talking about significant snow no matter what mountain range you’re talking about out in the West.”
Of particular note, the heavy snow will extend south into Arizona and New Mexico. Unlike the rest of the West, the snowpack is off to a rough start there, currently sitting at 20% to 50% of the average. This includes Flagstaff, Arizona.
THESE ARE THE 7 SNOWIEST CITIES IN THE U.S.
The pattern looks to reenergize later next week with a new low-pressure center spinning into the waters off the West Coast. The storm will bring the potential for renewed rain and mountain snow later next week, though uncertainty remains in the track of the low and how far precipitation will spread inland.