On the other side of the nation, blizzard or winter storm warnings were in force Saturday for regions extending from the Northeast to central Appalachia. Meanwhile, a huge storm dropped more snow and record rain in California, causing minor landslides and flooding several streets.
Before its powerful winds went across Northern California, the storm from the West Coast made landfall in the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, killing two people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power, primarily in the Seattle area.
By Friday evening, the Bay Area’s National Weather Service reported that Santa Rosa, California, had experienced its wettest three-day period on record, with approximately 12.5 inches (32 cm) of rain pouring.
According to the California Department of Transportation, flooding in Mendocino County closed a portion of picturesque Highway 1, also called the Pacific Coast Highway, and there was no indication of when it might reopen.
Another storm on the East Coast brought heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania and much-needed rain to New York and New Jersey, where uncommon wildfires had burned in recent weeks. Up to 2 feet (61 cm) of snow and strong winds made travel dangerous in parts of West Virginia, which remained under a blizzard warning until Saturday morning.
People wait in line to enter the Whitney Museum of American Art, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Image courtesy of Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Associated Press
More than 112,000 people in the Seattle region were still without power as the weekend approached due to this season’s largest atmospheric river, a lengthy plume of moisture that originates over an ocean and runs through the sky over land. Cities set up warming centers so residents entering their fourth day without power could obtain warm food and connect their phones and other gadgets, as crews worked to remove fallen lines, trees, and other debris from the streets.
High wind advisories were in force across portions of Northern California and Oregon, while gale warnings were issued off Washington, Oregon, and California. Parts of the Sierra Nevada and the California Cascades were under a winter storm warning.
As the system in the west goes south and the one in the northeast moves into eastern Canada, forecasters said both coasts will start to get a break from the storms.
In California, some respite was already evident by Friday evening when the Humboldt County sheriff’s office reduced evacuation orders to warnings for residents near the Eel River after forecasters predicted moderate but not significant flooding in the waterway.
An abomb cyclone, which happens when a cyclone intensifies quickly, blasted onshore on the West Coast on Tuesday. It unleashed strong gusts that threw trees into houses, cars, and roadways.
Debra Campbell claimed that when powerful winds whipped her Crescent City, California, home that night, she was unable to sleep and was sitting in the dark with a flashlight. Her house and automobile were struck by a 150-foot (46-meter) tree that exploded with a tremendous noise.
“It was just really terrifying,” Campbell remarked. I was able to get my handbag and car keys after realizing it wouldn’t pass through the ceiling where I was. And it’s just a solid tree when I open the front door.
More than 2 inches (5 cm) of rain were predicted by Saturday morning north of New York City in the drought-stricken Northeast, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.
The rains was supposed to alleviate drought conditions in a state that has seen an extremely dry fall, despite the devastation.
Bryan Greenblatt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York, stated that while it won’t be a drought buster, it would undoubtedly be helpful once everything melts.
Numerous schools in northeastern Pennsylvania, particularly those in the Pocono Mountains, were forced to close due to heavy snowfall. In valley communities like Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, accumulations were less severe, with higher elevations reporting accumulations of up to 17 inches (43 cm). The state transportation department placed speed limits on certain roadways, and over 85,000 consumers in ten counties lost power.
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From San Francisco, Rodriguez reported. Contributions were made by Associated Press writers John Raby in West Virginia, Michael Rubinkam in Pennsylvania, Sarah Brumfield in Washington, D.C., Manuel Valdes in Issaquah, Washington, Janie Har in San Francisco, and Hallie Golden in Seattle.
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