Shifting pattern to dump mountain snow, raise flood threat across the West this week
Beneficial rain and snow will come at the risk of flooding and difficult travel conditions across the West this week.
By
Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated Oct 19, 2021 5:57 AM EDT
A light rain shower broke a dry spell over Phoenix Lake in Ross, California, on Oct. 18. Much of the state has been suffering through drought conditions making this a welcomed sight.
Multiple storms are expected to march into the West Coast this week, bringing along a changeable mixture of rain, wind and snow for many places. While a dent in the ongoing drought is expected, it will come at a cost.
This week has already kicked off with a storm marching into the Pacific Northwest. The grey skies and spits of rain that are typical of autumn led to a dreary end to the weekend along the Interstate 5 corridor across western Washington, Oregon and even Northern California.
While this storm isn't a drought-busting powerhouse of a storm, it did prompt winter weather advisories across the northern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range from Sunday evening into Monday morning. Snow levels dropped low enough for a fresh coating of snow in places like South Lake Tahoe, California. The mountainous terrain surrounding the lake also became snow-covered overnight Sunday.
Snow had already begun in the Lake Tahoe area on early Monday morning, and chaotic snowflakes were captured on webcams.
Accompanying the snow, gusty winds will create headaches for travelers passing through Northern California's higher terrain. High-profile vehicles such as semis or RV's will need to keep both hands on the wheel when dealing with wind gusts in the 30- to 40-mph range through the day on Monday.
Attention will begin to shift across the Intermountain West through early week, as another round of mountain snow is in store.
Places like Evanston, Lyman and Green River, Wyoming, had snow start falling on Monday night, and all eastbound lanes were blocked on interstate 80 in this area due to multiple crashes.
Ski resorts across Utah's northern Wasatch Range, Uinta Mountains or Wyoming's Teton Range, Wind River Range, the Big Horn Mountains and the Laramie Mountains can expect to continue adding on to the snowpack, as another round of snow is moving on through Tuesday.
The heaviest snow -- which could be measured in feet rather than inches -- is expected to target the mountains of Wyoming through Tuesday night. A majority of the higher mountains and ski resort summits can expect a fresh 6-12 inches of snow, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 2 feet on mountain peaks.
Snow may then extend eastward towards the Black Hills of South Dakota Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, but attention will begin to shift along the West coast as another storm is set to move inland.
An extended fetch of moisture from the Pacific Ocean is anticipated to take aim at the West Coast by Wednesday. From the San Francisco Bay Area northward into Canada's Pacific Coast, another slug of rain and mountain snow is on the way.
Wednesday may only be day one of a multi-day West Coast deluge. From the middle to late-week time period, the wildfire season across the Northwest and possibly even across Northern California may finally come to an end. With storms trekking across the Northwest in recent weeks, firefighters have been able to hold and/or make advancements along containment lines from ongoing fires.
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The rain and snow will undoubtedly aid in firefighting efforts, however a new threat may arise as rain begins to fall on the recently scorched Earth. The charred ground and foliage now has a very limited ability to absorb rain, causing the newly fallen precipitation to quickly run off. Burnt silt and other debris from the burn scars can quickly turn into dangerous debris flows during episodes of heavy rain.
This may become a major concern across the Monument Fire burn scar area, the Dixie Fire burn scar, the Caldor Fire burn scar and many others spanning from Northern California the Northwest throughout the latter half of this week and into next week.
The exact forecast continues to be ironed out late week and into the weekend across the West, but it seems a series of storms is likely in store. From Wednesday through Friday along the West coast and throughout the Northwest, another potent storm will be possible moving quickly following in the foot steps of its predecessor marching ashore next weekend.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, DIRECTVstream, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeatherNOW is streaming on Roku and XUMO.
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News / Winter Weather
Shifting pattern to dump mountain snow, raise flood threat across the West this week
Beneficial rain and snow will come at the risk of flooding and difficult travel conditions across the West this week.
By Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated Oct 19, 2021 5:57 AM EDT
A light rain shower broke a dry spell over Phoenix Lake in Ross, California, on Oct. 18. Much of the state has been suffering through drought conditions making this a welcomed sight.
Multiple storms are expected to march into the West Coast this week, bringing along a changeable mixture of rain, wind and snow for many places. While a dent in the ongoing drought is expected, it will come at a cost.
This week has already kicked off with a storm marching into the Pacific Northwest. The grey skies and spits of rain that are typical of autumn led to a dreary end to the weekend along the Interstate 5 corridor across western Washington, Oregon and even Northern California.
While this storm isn't a drought-busting powerhouse of a storm, it did prompt winter weather advisories across the northern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range from Sunday evening into Monday morning. Snow levels dropped low enough for a fresh coating of snow in places like South Lake Tahoe, California. The mountainous terrain surrounding the lake also became snow-covered overnight Sunday.
Snow had already begun in the Lake Tahoe area on early Monday morning, and chaotic snowflakes were captured on webcams.
Accompanying the snow, gusty winds will create headaches for travelers passing through Northern California's higher terrain. High-profile vehicles such as semis or RV's will need to keep both hands on the wheel when dealing with wind gusts in the 30- to 40-mph range through the day on Monday.
Attention will begin to shift across the Intermountain West through early week, as another round of mountain snow is in store.
Places like Evanston, Lyman and Green River, Wyoming, had snow start falling on Monday night, and all eastbound lanes were blocked on interstate 80 in this area due to multiple crashes.
Ski resorts across Utah's northern Wasatch Range, Uinta Mountains or Wyoming's Teton Range, Wind River Range, the Big Horn Mountains and the Laramie Mountains can expect to continue adding on to the snowpack, as another round of snow is moving on through Tuesday.
The heaviest snow -- which could be measured in feet rather than inches -- is expected to target the mountains of Wyoming through Tuesday night. A majority of the higher mountains and ski resort summits can expect a fresh 6-12 inches of snow, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 2 feet on mountain peaks.
Snow may then extend eastward towards the Black Hills of South Dakota Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, but attention will begin to shift along the West coast as another storm is set to move inland.
An extended fetch of moisture from the Pacific Ocean is anticipated to take aim at the West Coast by Wednesday. From the San Francisco Bay Area northward into Canada's Pacific Coast, another slug of rain and mountain snow is on the way.
Wednesday may only be day one of a multi-day West Coast deluge. From the middle to late-week time period, the wildfire season across the Northwest and possibly even across Northern California may finally come to an end. With storms trekking across the Northwest in recent weeks, firefighters have been able to hold and/or make advancements along containment lines from ongoing fires.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The rain and snow will undoubtedly aid in firefighting efforts, however a new threat may arise as rain begins to fall on the recently scorched Earth. The charred ground and foliage now has a very limited ability to absorb rain, causing the newly fallen precipitation to quickly run off. Burnt silt and other debris from the burn scars can quickly turn into dangerous debris flows during episodes of heavy rain.
This may become a major concern across the Monument Fire burn scar area, the Dixie Fire burn scar, the Caldor Fire burn scar and many others spanning from Northern California the Northwest throughout the latter half of this week and into next week.
The exact forecast continues to be ironed out late week and into the weekend across the West, but it seems a series of storms is likely in store. From Wednesday through Friday along the West coast and throughout the Northwest, another potent storm will be possible moving quickly following in the foot steps of its predecessor marching ashore next weekend.
In other news:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, DIRECTVstream, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeatherNOW is streaming on Roku and XUMO.
Report a Typo