Much of California will get a brief respite from the Pacific’s worst fury as the unrelenting string of rainstorms shifts to the north to pummel Oregon and Washington.
(Bloomberg) — Much of California will get a brief respite from the Pacific’s worst fury as the unrelenting string of rainstorms shifts to the north to pummel Oregon and Washington.
“It is definitely shifting northward,” said Marc Chenard, a senior branch forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Center. “San Francisco should get out of it tomorrow and then it really doesn’t drop back south until Friday.”
A series of atmospheric rivers have flowed off the ocean since the end of December, flooding cities and towns, triggering mudslides and burying roads with mud and debris. At least 17 people have been killed in disaster-weary California.
Another system is set to sweep through all of California starting Saturday, though it’s not expected to be as intense as the most recent storms.
The storms have drenched the state with record rain and heavy snow, notably Ventura County which got almost 19 inches (48 centimeters), Chenard said. Mammoth Mountain resort in Southern California reported 54 inches in the last few days. The ski area has received a total of 310 inches this season, or almost 26 feet (8 meters).
Snow depths across the Sierra Nevada are twice the average for this time of year and the most in the records going back to 1982-83, the National Weather Service in San Diego said in a tweet. This will help ease California’s drought, assuming that the snow can last until spring.
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