Atmospheric river snarls travel in Northern Calif. with whiteout conditions
Several roads were closed across the Western states as a storm system dumped heavy precipitation stirred up and gusty winds.
By
John Murphy, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Dec 13, 2021 6:45 PM EDT
|
Updated Dec 14, 2021 4:08 PM EDT
Several parts of the West Coast experienced road closures and damage from rain, snow and wind as an impactful storm system came ashore.
Many of the passes along eastern California, such as Carson Pass and Sonora Pass, were expected to see several feet of snow. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Sacramento warned chain controls and road closures would remain possible.
Snow-packed roads could be seen in the California Sierra as conditions continued to worsen Monday.
The winter weather conditions in the Sierra caused Carson Pass to close due to avalanche control. CalTrans is advising drivers to avoid the area.
California State Route 172 was closed from Mineral to Mill Creek due to snow and winter weather conditions, according to CalTrans.
Roads closed in Oregon due to poor driving conditions. (Twitter/@jcfireoregon)
In Oregon, chains were required for those traveling over Cougar Pass Summit between Noti and Walton and later found themselves stuck when the pass closed. Slippery winter weather conditions caused a crash on the pass, which prompted the closure. No serious injuries had been reported relating to the crash.
"Travelers should take alternate routes and delay travel until conditions improve. Be prepared, give yourself extra time, and drive for conditions," said the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
All lanes on Cougar Pass Summit between Noti and Walton remained closed as of Tuesday morning. Broken-down vehicles were reported east and west of the pass, according to KVAL. Snoqualmie Pass in Washington saw snow by the afternoon hours.
Rain also caused issues around the West Coast, triggering mudslides and floods in Northern California.
Mudslide causes debris to close California SR 70 as heavy rain impacts the region. Twitter/@CaltransD2
Mudslides and debris flow closed California State Route 70 in the Feather River Canyon on Monday. It remained closed between Jarbo Gap and the Greenville Wye as of Tuesday morning, with no estimated reopening time.
At around 9:50 a.m. local time Monday morning, a tree fell onto all lanes of Highway 49 just north of Quail Creek Road. California Highway Patrol warned the tree may have power lines wrapped around it.
But the rainfall is also promising to provide at least some relief from drought conditions in the region. Since the start of the water year on Oct. 1, Sacramento has recorded 8.00 inches of rain. For the entire water year spanning Oct. 2020 to Sep. 2021, the city measured just 7.87 inches of rain, according to NWS data.
Rain amounts approached 10 inches at Three Peaks and Scotts Valley on Tuesday.
National Weather Service Bay Area reported several streams and creeks across the North Bay began rising quickly. Pilarcitos Creek had risen above minor flood stage, approaching the record height of 13.1 feet before dipping again. As of Tuesday morning, the creek was still above minor flood stage.
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The San Lorenzo River in California rose near to flood stage on Monday due to the excess rain. Flooding was reported on roadways in the area.
Hazardous conditions also emerged due to strong winds associated with the storm. A wind gust of 121 mph was recorded at Alpine Meadows, with 114 mph at Olympic Valley. Power outages have impacted California from the wind.
More than 77,000 customers were without power in California on Monday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. San Joaquin County reported the most outages, with over 20,000 customers without power.
Santa Cruz County reported wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph, causing several trees to fall down and block roadways.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Weather News
Atmospheric river snarls travel in Northern Calif. with whiteout conditions
Several roads were closed across the Western states as a storm system dumped heavy precipitation stirred up and gusty winds.
By John Murphy, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Dec 13, 2021 6:45 PM EDT | Updated Dec 14, 2021 4:08 PM EDT
Several parts of the West Coast experienced road closures and damage from rain, snow and wind as an impactful storm system came ashore.
Many of the passes along eastern California, such as Carson Pass and Sonora Pass, were expected to see several feet of snow. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Sacramento warned chain controls and road closures would remain possible.
Snow-packed roads could be seen in the California Sierra as conditions continued to worsen Monday.
The winter weather conditions in the Sierra caused Carson Pass to close due to avalanche control. CalTrans is advising drivers to avoid the area.
California State Route 172 was closed from Mineral to Mill Creek due to snow and winter weather conditions, according to CalTrans.
Roads closed in Oregon due to poor driving conditions. (Twitter/@jcfireoregon)
In Oregon, chains were required for those traveling over Cougar Pass Summit between Noti and Walton and later found themselves stuck when the pass closed. Slippery winter weather conditions caused a crash on the pass, which prompted the closure. No serious injuries had been reported relating to the crash.
"Travelers should take alternate routes and delay travel until conditions improve. Be prepared, give yourself extra time, and drive for conditions," said the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
All lanes on Cougar Pass Summit between Noti and Walton remained closed as of Tuesday morning. Broken-down vehicles were reported east and west of the pass, according to KVAL. Snoqualmie Pass in Washington saw snow by the afternoon hours.
Rain also caused issues around the West Coast, triggering mudslides and floods in Northern California.
Mudslide causes debris to close California SR 70 as heavy rain impacts the region. Twitter/@CaltransD2
Mudslides and debris flow closed California State Route 70 in the Feather River Canyon on Monday. It remained closed between Jarbo Gap and the Greenville Wye as of Tuesday morning, with no estimated reopening time.
At around 9:50 a.m. local time Monday morning, a tree fell onto all lanes of Highway 49 just north of Quail Creek Road. California Highway Patrol warned the tree may have power lines wrapped around it.
But the rainfall is also promising to provide at least some relief from drought conditions in the region. Since the start of the water year on Oct. 1, Sacramento has recorded 8.00 inches of rain. For the entire water year spanning Oct. 2020 to Sep. 2021, the city measured just 7.87 inches of rain, according to NWS data.
Rain amounts approached 10 inches at Three Peaks and Scotts Valley on Tuesday.
National Weather Service Bay Area reported several streams and creeks across the North Bay began rising quickly. Pilarcitos Creek had risen above minor flood stage, approaching the record height of 13.1 feet before dipping again. As of Tuesday morning, the creek was still above minor flood stage.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The San Lorenzo River in California rose near to flood stage on Monday due to the excess rain. Flooding was reported on roadways in the area.
Hazardous conditions also emerged due to strong winds associated with the storm. A wind gust of 121 mph was recorded at Alpine Meadows, with 114 mph at Olympic Valley. Power outages have impacted California from the wind.
More than 77,000 customers were without power in California on Monday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. San Joaquin County reported the most outages, with over 20,000 customers without power.
Santa Cruz County reported wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph, causing several trees to fall down and block roadways.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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