The storm may not have been a record breaker in all locations but there are still people without power, The Truckee River which flows out of the Eastside of California into Nevada put a bunch of water into Fernley, NV. Sounds like a irrigation canal that takes water from the Truckee River gave way. Historically the Truckee River feeds Pyramid Lake.
Most of the damage in N. California was related to winds. The other morning I was on this computer when the lights started flecking. I shut down and went to the laptop computer. Even with a surge protector I did not want to take a chance. A fair size pine tree had come down and the top caught the power lines.
The Rockies caught a good snow fall and a lot of avalanche control work is going on there and in the Sierra Nevada Range in California and Nevada. Most avalanche control is done along highways and ski areas. Meaning that back country travel can be risky right now. Snowmobiles are noted for trigger avalanches.
The following is copied from a message sent out by the weather folks:
Storm Recap
Well, that was something. Start by saying that it just stopped snowing
at Blue Canyon at 21Z (1pm local time Monday 1/7), after nearly 3 days.
In fact, other than a break from about 6-8pm last night, it snowed at
Blue Canyon ever since the changeover from rain to snow occurred on
Friday at 2:35pm. Prior to that, it was a nasty, rainy, and windy.
News live shots were criticizing the late arrival of snow, wondering why
it was raining. That snow level just took a little longer to drop, but
it did! The snow started about an hour after a 63mph wind gust took out
NOAA/HMT's research radar deployed at Blue Canyon at about 1:30pm. Then
it snowed for basically 3 days straight.
Around 11am Friday, when the peak of the storm was blasting through
Sacramento, taking the power with it, there were at least 20 different
kinds of advisories out across the state. These ran the gamut from High
Wind Warning, to Blizzard Warning, to Flash Flood Watch, to Avalanche
Warning! And each of those 20 types covered multiple areas and zones.
No area of the state was exempt.
Two systems impact CA this week; more for Northern and Central
California, than southern. One is on Tuesday, the other Thursday, with
north coast onset a half a day or so earlier. The 80/50 cutoff is a
reasonable approximation for the second system, however it was has more
moisture available than the first. We'll see what that brings. For
now, forecast rain amounts Tuesday are for 1-2" across the northern half
of the state higher elevations, a quarter to three quarters of an inch
valley and coastal locations. Gusty north coast winds are likely
tomorrow, as well as coastal mountain regions all the way to SFO. The
snow level will be between 4,000' and 5,000'.
Okay, here are the boosts we've had the last few days. Remember,
another couple waves slide across this week, so amounts will continue to
climb. At least until the ridge builds in this weekend. Then we may be
left alone for quite a while.
(I wish I could include tables, or even tabs that worked properly. But
this is a plain text email, sent through a rather clunky mail server.
When I make nice lists, it loses the carriage returns. And if I create
tabs, they get off whack, and I can't check during the conversion. So,
bear with me. )
Before the storm, the 8 Station index was at 12.0"; 66% of average for
the season. As of this morning, it's up to 89% of average, with 17.6".
This was a better 'snow' storm than 8 station precip index would
indicate, however. With the most impressive orographics over the
Southern Sierra, our snowpack saw a great surge. At the first of the
year (near Jan. 2), our statewide percent of normal for snow water
equivalence was 60% by sensor, and 60% as course-measured at Phillips on
Highway 50, near Sierra at Tahoe. This morning, we've about doubled
those numbers. Here's the breakdown for percent of average to date
across the Sierra:
Jan. 1 (Inches eq.)
Jan. 7
(Inches eq.)
Northern 64% 7"
112%
13"
Central 53% 6"
101%
13"
Southern 69% 6"
131%
12"
Statewide 60% 6"
111%
13"
As for individual locations, here are some storm-total snow figures
gathered from the National Weather Service, and Steve Johnson: Kirkwood
Ski resort; 8-11'. Heavenly; 5.5-8'. Horse Meadow, Tuolumne Watershed;
13'. Blackcap Basin, Kings; 8'. So the forecasted one-week amounts of
10 feet or more of snow are very likely to come to pass. Some places
have that already, and our week is not up until Thursday.
Rainfall amounts were very high in some places. Storm total for
Downtown Sacramento (since Thursday night) was 3.12". Peak 6-hour rain
occurred at San Marcos Pass, with 6.10" from 00 - 06Z the 5th. That
gauge in Santa Barbara Co. had 9" on Saturday, and stands at 10.95" for
the month. Bates has a January total of 5.92" in Santa Barbara Co.
Opids Camp in L.A. Co. came in with 12.56" for this storm period.
Highest 24-hour Sierra total at a quick glance showed Poison Ridge, in
Madera Co., el. 6,900' with 6.23" ending Saturday at 4am. Monthly
precip totals (which are basically this 'storm' because not much
happened the first 3 days of the month) include:
Oak Bottom, Shasta Co., el. 1,326' 10.02"
Drum Power House, Nevada Co. 3,400' 6.42"
Stateline 6,235'
3.60"
Mammoth Pass, Alpine Co., el. 9,500' 8.88"
Milo, Tulare Co., el. 2,002'
3.46"
A one-month statewide precip graph shows the crest and lee side of the
Sierra seeing upwards of 400% of normal precip since Dec. 8. Most of CA
has gotten about 150-200% of normal. For this great graphic, please go
to the Western Region Climate Center at:
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/anom/cal_anom.htmlScroll down to precip, and take your pick of variable and time frame.
Hydrologic impacts of the several days of wet weather include monitor
stage being reached at Arcata along the Mad River, Tisdale Weir overflow
to 1.5' on Saturday and Sunday (none occurred at Colusa), and Rio Vista
made it to monitor stage twice due to the strong low, and gusty winds.
Additional north coast hydrologic numbers and impacts have been
summarized by Sherry Constancio of the Eureka Flood Center (thanks!)
- Eel River at Fernbridge crested at 18.76, just below the
20-ft flood stage...at the 20-ft flood stage the western half of the Eel
River Delta may be completely flooded, including the northwest areas of
the community of Loleta
- Van Duzen at Grizzly Creek peaked just under Monitor Stage
(13-ft) at 12.54.
- In Mendocino County, the Navarro River near Navarro peaked at
29.54-ft, well over its 23-foot Flood Stage. According to the NWS, some
homes are flooded at 30-feet so this was a narrow margin and was closely
monitored.
- Numerous power outages, including the entire city of Crescent
City
- US Highway 101 between Crescent City and Klamath was closed
briefly early Friday morning due to a downed tree
- State Route 36 was closed for awhile near Carlotta due to
flooding
- Avenue of the Giants (along Hwy 101) was briefly closed due
to a slide
- Snow levels dropped to 2000-ft and several inches covered
Highway 299
- Localized flooding in lowland areas and the temporary closure
of several county roads
May not post again till the 16th or 23rd of this month, due to several
speaking and project obligations.
(EL)
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Weather_and_Climate_News
