[A series of atmospheric river-fueled storms is pounding the West Coast with powerful winds, drenching rain, heavy mountain snow, and churning up massive waves and dangerous seas just off the coast. The storms began over the weekend and turned deadly early this week in California.
A man died Monday morning after being trapped under debris in Sunset State Beach in central California, and another man was likely swept out to sea just a few miles south at Marina State Beach early Monday afternoon. Waves were around 10 feet high in the Monterey Bay area and as high as 25 feet elsewhere near the coast of northern and central California.
Heavy rain deluged the northern half of California, including San Francisco, with rainfall rates reaching 3 to 4 inches per hour during the heaviest rain. The storm also whipped up winds elsewhere along the West Coast, where high wind alerts are in effect. Widespread wind gusts of 70 mph with isolated gusts potentially reaching 90 mph could cause blowing snow and reduced visibility.
The storm is also causing flash flooding and debris flows, especially across burn scars in the area. Heavy mountain snow will fall through Tuesday in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada and parts of the Cascades, with widespread snowfall up to a foot and isolated totals potentially exceeding a foot.
A dramatic collapse of a section of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf on Monday afternoon underscored growing challenges posed by climate change and the urgent need for public safety measures. The wharf and city officials are asking the public not to attempt to retrieve any debris remaining in the water.
As the city braces for more severe weather, officials urged the public to heed high surf warnings and steer clear of the beaches. The storm is expected to move east Wednesday and could bring up to a foot of snowfall across the Rockies, just in time for Christmas Day and the start of Hanukkah. It will eventually move into the Southern Plains Thursday, where its threat will shift once again to severe thunderstorms.
The West Coast will only have a short break from storms before another atmospheric river-fueled storm begins to lash the coast by Wednesday evening, bringing a prolonged round of coastal and lower-elevation rainfall and higher-elevation snowfall through the weekend.
Source link
