A major winter storm, with gusts close to hurricane strength, is moving toward northern California. Dubbed a “bomb storm” due to the rapid drop in central pressure, it exceeded the norm for 24 millibars (mb) in 24 hours. tornado name “bomb”.
Starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday, January 4order, the storm’s central pressure when it was just off the California coast was 28.33 inches (959.36 millibars) as shown in the image below. That pressure is lower than the central pressure of many hurricanes.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued forecasts for areas of potential flooding that cover much of the Sacramento Valley and the north coast.
Because this winter storm is relatively warm, the average amount of snow is higher, causing rain to fall in snowy areas, creating meltwater that overwhelms already waterlogged soil, creating rapid runoff into the mountains. creeks and rivers.
NWS has Issues Winter Storm Warning for the Northern Sierra Nevada.
Heavy snow is expected. Total snow accumulation is 4 to 10 inches, except for 6 to 18 inches west of Highway 395. The lowest valleys below 4000-4500 feet are expected to see only 3 inches of snow.
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Snow levels will start below 4000 feet before rapidly increasing to 5000-6000 feet by Wednesday afternoon. Snow levels will then drop to 4500-5000 feet again on Thursday. The storm will come in two parts and areas east of Highway 395 can be closed Wednesday night.
For areas Near Lake Tahoe, the NWS recommends an even worse situation:
Heavy snow is expected. Total snow accumulation is 8 to 14 inches, with the exception of 1 to 2 feet per 7000 feet. Local counts of up to 3 feet are expected for the top of the Sierra. Wind gusts of up to 100 mph on the Sierra slopes with gusts of up to 40 mph in the Tahoe Basin.
Additionally, widespread damaging winds are forecast from this winter storm.
Winds at the valley floor are expected to reach 60 mph, with higher elevations seeing stronger gusts.
Dr Ryan Maue had this to say on Twitter:
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