Stormy weather to slam West Coast in final week of 2020
By
Mary Gilbert, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Dec 29, 2020 12:16 PM EST
A heavy blanket of snow fell over Spokane, Washington, late on Christmas night, Friday Dec. 25.
Following closely in the footsteps of a storm that walloped portions of the West on Christmas Day, the second significant storm in several days has begun to deliver disruptive weather for the final week of 2020.
The first storm began to take aim at the West Coast on Friday. This storm brought heavy rain and strong wind gusts to portions of the coastal Pacific Northwest while a mix of rain and snow pushed farther inland. Snow persisted for many high-elevation regions through Saturday. One such location was Trout Lake, Washington, where a foot of snow fell in less than 24 hours.
Showers from this system spread across Northern California and portions of central California Friday through Saturday morning, while snow targeted the northern portions of the Sierra. A weak cold front associated with this system was even able to bring a few sprinkles into Southern California.
The second system began to slam into the West Coast on Sunday night and, as expected, took a track much farther south than the system late last week.
As the storm approached the California coast late Sunday, rain began to fall and stretched from just north of San Francisco to south of San Diego. Rain and showers will persist across much of the state into Monday evening.
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Rain could make for slick roadways for those traveling through Monday evening, and may lead to travel delays or even accidents. A few embedded rumbles of thunder remain possible within the general rainfall area.
Some much-needed rainfall finally arrived for portions of Southern California on Sunday night.
"In just one hour, downtown Los Angeles reported a rainfall amount that nearly mirrored what the reporting site had received in total since May 1," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll said. "From May 1 to Dec. 27, downtown Los Angeles had received only 0.28 inches of rain. From midnight to 1 a.m. PST on Monday morning, 0.26 inches of rain fell in the city."
"As of noon PST, Monday, downtown Los Angeles, had received 0.87 of an inch of rain from the storm, which was the greatest rainfall since storms visited the area during the first couple of weeks of April," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
In addition, flashes of lightning and even small hail were reported around the Los Angeles area overnight Sunday. By the time the storm came to an end across Southern California Monday afternoon, 1.81 inches of rain was tallied up in Los Angeles.
The storm also brought more snow to the Sierra Nevada and even allowed snow to fall across the mountains of Southern California Monday and Monday evening. Big Bear Resort was one of the highest snowfall reports to come out of Southern California, with over a foot of snowfall observed.
As the storm tracked farther inland Monday night and early Tuesday, rain and snow showers began to spread east into portions of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.
Precipitation that fell in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah early this week proved to be beneficial, but not drought-busting. Portions of each state are still in extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
By Tuesday, the storm is expected to continue eastward in the Plains and become the next major winter storm, and perhaps even the next blizzard for the center of the country.
After the storm ejects into the Plains on Tuesday, an area of high pressure will begin to build over the Rockies, allowing quiet weather to return to the Southwest for many of the remaining days of 2020. However, forecasters are monitoring yet another storm that could put a damper on outdoor, socially distanced celebrations on New Year's Eve.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather Forecasts
Stormy weather to slam West Coast in final week of 2020
By Mary Gilbert, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Dec 29, 2020 12:16 PM EST
A heavy blanket of snow fell over Spokane, Washington, late on Christmas night, Friday Dec. 25.
Following closely in the footsteps of a storm that walloped portions of the West on Christmas Day, the second significant storm in several days has begun to deliver disruptive weather for the final week of 2020.
The first storm began to take aim at the West Coast on Friday. This storm brought heavy rain and strong wind gusts to portions of the coastal Pacific Northwest while a mix of rain and snow pushed farther inland. Snow persisted for many high-elevation regions through Saturday. One such location was Trout Lake, Washington, where a foot of snow fell in less than 24 hours.
Showers from this system spread across Northern California and portions of central California Friday through Saturday morning, while snow targeted the northern portions of the Sierra. A weak cold front associated with this system was even able to bring a few sprinkles into Southern California.
The second system began to slam into the West Coast on Sunday night and, as expected, took a track much farther south than the system late last week.
As the storm approached the California coast late Sunday, rain began to fall and stretched from just north of San Francisco to south of San Diego. Rain and showers will persist across much of the state into Monday evening.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Rain could make for slick roadways for those traveling through Monday evening, and may lead to travel delays or even accidents. A few embedded rumbles of thunder remain possible within the general rainfall area.
Some much-needed rainfall finally arrived for portions of Southern California on Sunday night.
"In just one hour, downtown Los Angeles reported a rainfall amount that nearly mirrored what the reporting site had received in total since May 1," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll said. "From May 1 to Dec. 27, downtown Los Angeles had received only 0.28 inches of rain. From midnight to 1 a.m. PST on Monday morning, 0.26 inches of rain fell in the city."
"As of noon PST, Monday, downtown Los Angeles, had received 0.87 of an inch of rain from the storm, which was the greatest rainfall since storms visited the area during the first couple of weeks of April," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
In addition, flashes of lightning and even small hail were reported around the Los Angeles area overnight Sunday. By the time the storm came to an end across Southern California Monday afternoon, 1.81 inches of rain was tallied up in Los Angeles.
The storm also brought more snow to the Sierra Nevada and even allowed snow to fall across the mountains of Southern California Monday and Monday evening. Big Bear Resort was one of the highest snowfall reports to come out of Southern California, with over a foot of snowfall observed.
As the storm tracked farther inland Monday night and early Tuesday, rain and snow showers began to spread east into portions of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.
Related:
Precipitation that fell in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah early this week proved to be beneficial, but not drought-busting. Portions of each state are still in extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
By Tuesday, the storm is expected to continue eastward in the Plains and become the next major winter storm, and perhaps even the next blizzard for the center of the country.
After the storm ejects into the Plains on Tuesday, an area of high pressure will begin to build over the Rockies, allowing quiet weather to return to the Southwest for many of the remaining days of 2020. However, forecasters are monitoring yet another storm that could put a damper on outdoor, socially distanced celebrations on New Year's Eve.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo