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Epic Western Storm Not Done Yet

Dec 20, 2010; 2:35 PM ET

The series of storms that has brought excessive amounts of rain and snow from California to Utah since Friday will continue through Wednesday in California and into Thursday in the Great Basin. This storm has lived up to everything I thought it was going to be from early last week. The plume of moisture that had origins around the Dateline to the southwest of Hawaii (there even has been a tropical storm out in that area) has feed this deluge from day one.

All the high rain and snowfall amounts are just too numerous to go through one by one. In general so far:

-Central Coast and Central Coastal Mountains: 5 to 9 inches lowlands and up to 9 to 12 inches in the mountains.

-San Joaquin Valley: On average 2 to 5 inches.

-Foothills and Mountains of the Sierra: Up to 8 to 15 inches.

-Los Angeles and Ventura County Coast and Valleys: 4 to 8 inches on average.

-Los Angeles and Ventura County Mountains: 8 to 12 inches.

-San Diego County: Heaviest rain in the North County with 2 to 4 inches in the lowlands and 3 to 5 inches in the mountains.

-Mammoth Mountain has had up to 13.5 feet of snow. That is right. Remember I said last week I expected 15 to 20 feet? They will end up probably with at least 20 feet on top. Mammoth has now set an all-time record snowfall record for the month of December since records began back in 1969.

A little sample of what it is like at Mammoth Mountain from their web site.

Heavy runoff in Utah has led to flooding along the Virgin River in Southwest Utah and impressive rises along the river leading into Lake Mead. River levels near Lake Mead have risen almost 10 feet since last Friday. Flooding has already been a problem in the Mojave Desert from Barstow to Bishop and the city of Mojave.

The heaviest rain tonight shifts to mainly Southern California up through southwest Utah and extreme northwest Arizona. By tomorrow the band of the heaviest rain may run from San Diego County northeast into Southwest Utah. That does not mean it will not rain and snow elsewhere. But it does mean it won't be as steady in other areas of California. Because of continued upslope, the Sierra will still have pretty steady rain and snow.

The caboose storm will come south through the eastern Pacific Tuesday night and Wednesday, bringing another band of heavy precipitation with it, along with a few thunderstorms as well. Snow levels are falling and will bottom out on Wednesday ranging from 3,000 feet north to 5,000 feet south. That means that finally the Southern California ski resorts will get snow instead of rain from later tomorrow night through Wednesday. In fact, substantial accumulations are likely of up to, and even greater than, a foot.

Heavy rain and mountain snow are also likely in Nevada and Utah through Wednesday night and Thursday morning and a place like Las Vegas could get close to their annual amount of rain before this storm is done. Flooding along streams and rivers in parts of Utah will continue. Arizona will finally get some pretty good rain and mountain snow Wednesday into Thursday morning as well with snow levels falling and moderate to heavy precipitation spreading from west to east during the day Wednesday and Wednesday night.

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About This Blog

Ken Clark
Ken Clark's Western U.S. weather blog tackles daily weather events with commentary from one of the most experienced and trusted Western U.S. weather experts.

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