West: 122 mph Winds, 5 Feet of Snow
NOTE: The list of wind gusts below was updated 1/1/06 at 9 a.m. California Time.
2005 is going out with a bang in the West. Widespread flooding reports have been received from California, Oregon and Nevada again today as the West Coast continues to get pounded with heavy rain, snow and high waves.
Winds as high as 122 mph have been recorded in Nevada (see complete list below). As a result, the National Weather Service reports:
Waves as high as nearly 20 feet have been reported from Buoy 46014.
Photographer wb6ypf (Bill Westphal) from our Photo Gallery shares several photos of the waves on the California Coast:
Some high wind gusts reported:
Virginia Peak, NV: 122 mph*
Humboldt Bay, CA: 84 mph**
15 mi. South of Reno, NV: 83 mph
Angel Island, CA: 77 mph
Gardnerville, NV: 75 mph
Port San Pablo, CA: 75 mph
Port Orford, OR: 72 mph
CLR24 Avawatz, CA: 72 mph
CLR23 LFA-12.5, CA: 70 mph
Washoe City, NV: 70 mph
CLR20 Live-Fire, CA: 66 mph
CLR22 Gary-Owens, CA: 65 mph
Eureka, CA: 64 mph
Sunol, CA: 63 mph
Golden Gate Bridge, CA: 61 mph
San Francisco Airport, CA: 60 mph
CLR08 Parrot, CA: 60 mph
*RECORDED BY DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE SENSOR ON TOP OF VIRGINIA PEAK
**UNITED STATES COAST GUARD MEASURED WIND GUSTS UP TO 84 MPH ON THE HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH VESSEL, CORAL SEA IN HUMBOLDT BAY.
Up to 5 feet of snow may fall on some western mountains during the next day, along with another 8 inches of rain for parts of California.
It looks pretty dire to me, but I'm no Western weather expert. For continued updates on Western Weather, follow Ken Clark (PREMIUM | PRO) and Paul Yeager (PREMIUM | PRO) on the Accu-Blogosphere.
Additional Associated Press Photos:
A car is shown after it ran off a flooded road leading to Interstate 5 near Ashland, Ore., Friday, Dec. 30, 2005. Heavy rains and high winds lashed Western Oregon on Friday, triggering a landslide that closed Interstate 5 over the Siskiyou Summit and prompting flood warnings on rivers from near Portland to the California border. (AP Photo/The Daily Tidings, Orville Hector)
A parking space off High School Road near Occidental Road is flooded over by the Laguna De Santa Rosa river, Friday, Dec. 30, 2005, in Sebastopol, Calif. Authorities continue to keep a close watch on rivers and streams throughout Northern California as the first of two strong winter storms begins to soak the area. (AP Photo/The Press Democrat, Crista Jeremiason)
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