California Storms

4/10/2017 (Permalink)

late-season atmospheric river has pushed Northern California’s water year (Oct. 1 to Sept. 30) to the second wettest ever recorded, the National Weather Service said Friday.

The storm has dumped rain from the Bay Area north to Shasta and east to Susanville along the Sierra Nevada, where months of rain and snowfall have already filled reservoirs and saturated soils to levels not seen since before the drought

This week’s storms sent wind gusts blasting across the Golden Gate Bridge at 54 mph, according to the Weather Service. They also knocked out power to tens of thousands of Pacific Gas & Electric customers, the utility reported.

Caltrans reported that a water-saturated hillside in Oakland gave way and collapsed. It brought a road along with it.

The National Weather Service in Reno said the city received nearly an inch and a half of rain in 24 hours and up to 15 inches of snow in the mountains. Winds in the mountain tops reached 134 mph. An avalanche warning was issued for the highest peaks.

“This event isn’t expected to be as strong as storms in January and February but is a significant precipitation event for April,” the Weather Service said.

When winter snow eventually melts, it will send millions of acre-feet of water down into California’s rivers and reservoirs, potentially causing floods. In the interim, it’s creating dangerous conditions on highway passes.