An extraordinarily active winter season across California has been full of moisture-laden storms that have helped completely erase persistent drought conditions in some areas due to epic amounts of rain and astonishingly high snowfall totals.
The unrelenting storms have also had numerous negative consequences as well. That was evident this week when another atmospheric river generated extreme wind gusts in the San Francisco Bay Area, flooding rain in the Los Angeles basin and feet of heavy, wet snow across the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada from Monday into Wednesday morning.
The state will get a needed reprieve from storms for a brief period of time, but AccuWeather meteorologists are calling for a return of stormy conditions by next week
Resident of Tulare County on both sides of the Tule River were ordered to evacuate after water levels rose at Lake Success, according to the LA Times.
“The amount of water coming off the hillsides is elevated, and [it has] expedited the need for us to get out of the area,” Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said in a video update around 1 a.m. Authorities were going door to door to evacuate residents out of the area.
California experience a heavy amount of rain and snow within a one-month span that included San Bernardino residents trapped in snow that included search and rescue efforts.
More than 30 million California residents were under flood watch that included Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento, according to CNN.
“While the [forecast of the] exact location and strength of this storm is still being fine-tuned, it does appear likely that residents in portions of California next Monday and Tuesday could see stronger precipitation rates and gusty winds return,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Joseph Bauer said.
“Snow levels can be lower through this next event as colder air moves in with levels of 7,000-8,000 feet to begin with falling to 4,000-5,000 feet by the end of the event,” Bauer added.
Over 600 inches of snow has already been measured so far this season at Mammoth Mountain, and surprisingly enough, that is not an all-time record for the ski resort. The infamous 2010-2011 season featured 668.5 inches of snowfall at the resort, a total that may be challenged before the end of the month.
Last Friday, the state’s Central Valley saw 13 inches of rain where a breached levee forced other residents to evacuate.
“It’s heartbreaking to see the community under floodwaters today,” Monterey County Board of Supervisors Chair Luis Alejo said to the local NPR member station. “We know that these residents are going to go through some challenging times over the next several months to try to get their homes repaired and make them habitable again.”
A slow eastward progression of the storm will likely keep hazardous conditions in place through Tuesday night and Wednesday. During this time, cold air filtering in around the core of the storm will also result in snow levels coming down. This storm will bring snow to much lower elevations than the system that moved through earlier this week, forecasters say.
Although the storm onslaught in California has worked wonders in the state’s battle against long-term drought conditions, it has also caused challenges for residents due to the frequent flooding, mudslides and destructive winds. Yosemite National Park, famous for its snowy landscapes during the winter, has had to shut down as a result of too much snow.
Following the unsettled conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday, there can be another brief lull in the stormy weather across California next Thursday and Friday, but AccuWeather’s team of long-range forecasters says more storms are likely into the end of the month.
Produced in association with AccuWeather
