More Storms Set to Hit California This Week, Continuing Deluge
Southern Sierra Nevada could see up to 2 ½ feet of snow Tuesday
The West Coast is bracing for another round of storms beginning Sunday, with wet weather expected in California through the middle of the week and the Sierra Nevada region anticipating more snow.
A first storm will roll through the Central and Northern California coast Sunday night, delivering a modest amount of rain as well as more than a foot of snow in the mountains, with little impact in the southern part of the state, according to the National Weather Service.
The next storm will hit Southern California harder beginning Tuesday morning, meteorologist Brian Hurley said, with potential flooding in low-lying areas and heavy snow at higher elevations. Coastal areas are expected to get 1 to 3 inches of rain, with the potential for flash flooding, he said. Windy conditions are also expected.
The latest bands of precipitation add to what has been a dramatic, dangerous winter in the region, with near-record snow and fatal flooding. California’s levee systems, crucial tools protecting the Central Valley farmlands and providing water to more than 20 million people, are already under strain.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said Saturday it has stationed flood rescue teams across the state, from Los Angeles County north to Sacramento County.
The addition of 1½ to 2½ feet in the southern Sierra Nevada Tuesday—and likely between 1 and 2 feet further north—makes for dangerous conditions and avalanche threats, Mr. Hurley said.
“It really can’t take much more,” he said of the region. “You’re adding more snow to areas that really don’t need any more.”
Mr. Hurley said that while it is serious, Tuesday’s storm likely won’t be as brutal as what parts of the state experienced during the last atmospheric river. The fact that there has been a break in the weather may help soften the blow, he said, as people have had time to dig out a bit. And a slower, steady rainfall in lower-lying areas this time may help prevent some of the more dramatic scenes witnessed during the torrential downpours of recent weeks, he said.