Atmospheric river set to the Drench Northern California

On By Littum

After several weeks without significant rain on the west coast, an atmospheric river is ready to disrupt the spell form with dry weather with heavy rain and mountain in Washington and Oregon before moving south, where it is expected to deliver several waves with heavy rainfall to northern California into next week.

Coastal areas in Oregon and Washington could receive three to five inches from late Thursday to Saturday, while the coastal mountain intervals of northern California are expected to be woven during long -term storm activity, with up to 15 inch rain over the next week, according to National Weather Service. Northern Sierra Nevada could pick up one and a half feet.

The system, which pushed into Pacific Northwest on Thursday night, will drive south Friday along the coast into northern California, where it will hang through the weekend. Its moisture band is expected to bring longer periods of moderate to heavy rain from northern and central California on Saturday to Sunday, and that region will look further heavy rain on Monday and into the rest of next week.

Atmospheric rivers are ties of moisture carried by heavy winds. These storms have the potential to free down the downscapes of rain, especially when pushing up and over mountains. But their paths are narrow and it can be difficult to find exactly where they will line up and release the heaviest rain. This early in the prognosis, meteorologists can confirm that a wet weather pattern is coming to the West Coast, but they are less sure of the details, especially those next week.

This storm “is expected to stop over California and wing up and down the coastline,” said Roger Gass, a meteorologist with Weather Service Office in Monterey, Calif.

There is one Light chance For excessive rainfall that could lead to flooding from Mendocino County South into the San Francisco Bay area and as far south as Santa Cruz County from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, according to the Weather Prediction Center. The risk also extends inland across the Sacramento valley and into the Sierra Nevada. Streams are expected to swell in southwestern Oregon and northern and central California, and the greatest potential for flooding is expected in northern California.

“One of the more impressive things about this storm is how long it will last in northern California,” said Chad Hecht, a meteorologist at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

  • Friday: After starting to influence Pacific Northwest on Thursday, the system spreads south into northern California, while rain and snow continue to fall over Washington and Oregon. The system starts pushing into Sierra Nevada late Friday.

  • Saturday: The system leaves Washington early in the day and Oregon later in the afternoon or evening, but it continues to soften North -California and brings snow over Sierra Nevada.

  • Sunday: A chance of rain and snow continues mainly in northern and central California.

  • Monday to Wednesday: The system will utilize another large wave of moisture, probably Monday, and will continue to deliver rain to northern and central California next week. (While some prognosis may be referring to this rounding round as another atmospheric river, Mr. Hecht described it as part of the same massive system with multiple moisture foods.)

While Washington, Oregon and Northern California looked wet start to the rainy season late last year, they have not received a significant rain for about two weeks. The dry period begins to affect seasonal totals. Seattle has recorded about an empty rain since January 1 compared to five inches for a typical January.

With this storm, Seattle is expected to pick up an inch for one and a half empty rain. “It’s not a big rain event, but it’s a change as we haven’t had much rain in two weeks,” said Kayla Mazurkiewicz, a forecast with weather service in Seattle.

San Francisco has not received any rain in more than three weeks and has seen a little rain throughout January and recorded less than a quarter inch since the start of the month. In a typical January, the city gets approx. 4.5 inches. However, the dry spell is about to end, with San Francisco predicted to register over four to six inches over the next seven days. Right to the north, the mountains of North Bay could receive more than eight inches.

Southern California has had one of its driest starts in the winter ever, according to items that go back more than 150 years. The dry conditions helped burn more devastating fire over Los Angeles County this month.

While this system is expected to be focused on northern California, it can bring up an empty rain to southern California and Los Angeles County next week.

“Some forecasts have the rain that is deterred before the storm comes down there, and others show that it dwells and brings some rain, but not a wealth of rainfall,” Mr. Hecht. “That’s not to say that things can’t change.”