Arctic Storm Continues To Pound West
A desert town in Western Nevada flooded yesterday when a levee burst under the pummeling rain falling all over the area. An area that normally receives between 5 and 8 inches of rainfall annually got almost 2 inches overnight. Snowfalls in Washington, Oregon and California have reached dangerous levels, with the US Weather Service issuing warnings that trying to travel in those areas would put a person's life at risk.
Avalanche warnings were posted for the backcountry of the central Sierra Nevadas, and flash-flood warnings were in effect for many areas of Southern California, where large stretches of hillsides had been denuded by last fall's wildfires.
Remote sensors and ski areas in the high Sierra Nevada had recorded as much as 5 feet of snow since Friday morning, and the west side of the Lake Tahoe Basin had 4 to 5 feet by Friday night, the National Weather Service office in Reno said on Saturday.
As much as nine feet of snow is possible in the Sierras by Sunday. "Attempting to travel in the Sierra will put your life at risk," the weather service warned.
An 80-mile stretch of Interstate 80 from Reno to Applegate, Calif., was closed Saturday night as the fresh wave of snow moved in.
The weather was also blamed for a 17-car pileup that closed the westbound lanes of I-80 near Patrick, just east of the Reno-Sparks area, Saturday afternoon.
The National Weather Service recorded wind gusts of up to 165 mph on mountaintops northwest of Lake Tahoe on Friday.
More than 450,000 California homes and businesses were in the dark Saturday, down from more than 1.6 million the day before. It could be days before all the lights are back on, Pacific Gas & Electric officials said.
Accuweather reports that the storm has now moved into the Rocky Mountains and will be wreaking havoc there but still more bad weather will hit the West Coast, so it is not over yet. The East is seeing a warming trend at the moment, but that will end abruptly when the storm systems push into the Midwest. They are not predicting the return of the Arctic temps just yet, though. Which is nice - because the Midwest has been frigid for far too long.
Environment | Gaius Sunday, 6 January , 2008
By crosspatch, Sunday, 6 January , 2008 @ 1:58 pm
Latest news reports are that the failure was due to burrowing rodents.
By NortonPete, Sunday, 6 January , 2008 @ 2:38 pm
Yes, this report warrants a major Blue Crab investigation.
Apparently rodents, conspiring with evil climate change scientists, are attempting to take back their prominent position coming out of the last ice age. Kings of the hill. Rip off your mufflers pilgrims, and blast away.
By Larry, Sunday, 6 January , 2008 @ 2:56 pm
Are not *all* (OK, nearly all) storms that come on-shore in the Northwest this time of year “arctic” storms?
I’m just askin’.
By NortonPete, Sunday, 6 January , 2008 @ 3:08 pm
Larry,
Some Northwest Storms come from Japan and travel close to Alaska and then down to the Northwest.
Remember the Japanese “balloon bombs” from WWII?. Well they used that current to loft ballons with bombs at us, I think one person was killed.