Biggest Pacific storm in months to soak California, bring mountain snow
The first snow since spring is forecast for some across the western US, while others can expect a dose of heavy rain and flooding.
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A storm barreled across California early this week, which brought much-needed rain and some mountain snow for the first time since early spring.
Showers began breaking out across Oregon and Northern California on Monday morning. Rain and high-elevation snow expanded across much of California as the storm dove southward along the Pacific coast.
Widespread rainfall amounts of 1-2 inches occurred across much of the state. Higher amounts of 2-4 inches occurred along the upslope portions of the Sierra Nevada and Southern California mountains.
Along with rain, severe thunderstorms moved across Southern California, which led to multiple reports of trees and road signs falling. Winds gusted up to 73 mph in Los Angeles County on Tuesday.
At the height of the storm, as winds blew in from the Pacific Ocean, temperatures trended downward from the 70s to the 60s in many low elevations in Northern California and the immediate Southern California coast early this week.
The incoming cold allowed for snow levels to drop to around 5,000 feet through early Wednesday morning. Travelers planning to drive on Interstate 80 through Donner Pass can expect a couple of inches of slushy snow and delays. Above the passes in the mountains, a foot or more of snow could accumulate, including in some of the resorts near Lake Tahoe.
As the storm moves east into the middle of the week, so too will the cold air, allowing for some precipitation to fall as snow across the highest elevations of Nevada, northern Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.
Much of the areas forecast to have rain on Wednesday are currently in a deep drought. According to the most recent update from the U.S. Drought Monitor, 83% of Idaho and 100% of Utah are in a moderate, severe, or extreme drought.
The storm will also strengthen enough to increase the risk for severe thunderstorms as it shifts toward the central United States. The cool air brought into the West by the storm, clashing with a strong southerly wind transporting warm air from Mexico, will create conditions prime for thunderstorm development.
Drenching downpours and lightning could be widespread with these thunderstorms. However, AccuWeather meteorologists warn thunderstorms may also produce hail and damaging wind gusts during the afternoon and evening hours.
"Severe thunderstorms occasionally produce tornadoes," Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "While this threat is low for the current storm system, a couple of brief tornadoes or waterspouts that form and move onshore cannot be ruled out."
Additional rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms may persist across the Plains as the week progresses.
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