Atmospheric river takes final aim at Pacific Northwest, still reeling from bomb cyclone
The atmospheric river taking aim at the Pacific Northwest will send additional rain, snow and strong winds at the already battered region Friday, which forecasters say should be its final round.
The second predicted mega storm didn't become strong enough to reach the designation of "bomb cyclone" – an explosive cold season storm. The first bomb cyclone hit earlier in the week, and was blamed for two deaths in Washington. Photos of the damage showed cars and homes smashed by fallen trees.
Meanwhile, the eastern part of the country was getting its first real taste of winter weather with a storm that promised to dump rain and even a foot of snow at higher elevations in parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Virginia, Kentucky and other nearby states. Even residents in the Washington, D.C. metro area woke up to a surprising light snowfall Friday morning.
The Pacific Northwest and Northern California regions weren't out of the woods yet Friday. The National Weather Service warned that life-threatening flooding is likely in Northern California, where reports of flooded roads were coming out of the Bay Area by Thursday evening.
Between 3 and 5 additional inches of rain are expected to fall Friday, particularly in coastal areas, the weather service said. In the northern Sierra Nevada mountains, rainfall during the day could reach up to 10 inches.
"Dangerous flooding, rock slides and debris flows remain likely today," the weather service said.
Northern California was blanketed by flood warnings, watches and advisories on Friday. Heavy snow is expected in the Washington Cascades and Northern Rockies through Saturday, and several feet of snow could also accumulate in higher elevations of the northern Sierra range.
Just under 200,000 homes and businesses in Washington and Northern California were without power early Friday, down from close to 300,000 Thursday afternoon and 600,000 on Wednesday.
Evacuations ordered in Northern California
Officials in Humboldt County, California, in the northwest part of the state, issued evacuation orders and warnings for residents because of flooding from the storm and predicted rises in river levels.
"Residents should remain ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice if conditions worsen," the sheriff's office said on Thursday.
Residents were also urged to stay off roads unless travel is necessary.
'Up in the air'
DeeAnn Mayer, a vacation property manager in Sonoma County where flood warnings were in effect Friday, hasn't been home since Wednesday because of the bad weather.
"It’s been raining steadily for the last four days, so unfortunately this water isn’t going into the ground," Mayer told Paste BN.
Mayer, 63, told Paste BN she hasn't left the property since Wednesday, because she didn't want to be on the roads during the storms in case an emergency happened. Many side roads are closed due to flooding in and around the small town of Guerneville, California, where Mayer's Cottages on River Road sit directly across from the area's Russian River, she said.
On Friday morning, Mayer was checking when high tide would come and was hoping she'd be able to finally leave and drive the 6 miles home to Monte Rio, California, down a winding road along the river bank.
"Am I going to be able to get back? Everything is kind of up in the air right now," Mayer said.
How much rain and snow has already fallen?
Already by Thursday evening, parts of Northern California had seen over a foot of rainfall.
Here are some of the rainfall totals as of late Thursday, according to the National Weather Service:
◾ Venado, California: 17.4 inches.
◾ Austin Creek, California: 15.88 inches.
◾ Santa Rosa, California: 11.2 inches.
◾ Mount Shasta, California: 10.62 inches.
Here are some of the snowfall totals:
◾ Soda Springs, California: 20 inches.
◾ Siskiyou Summit, Oregon: 7 inches.
◾ Mazama, Washington: 16.2 inches.
Bombarding weather forces school closures in Northern California
Several school districts canceled classes again on Friday as they weathered the storm. In Sonoma County, 13 of its 40 school districts closed some or all of their schools, citing difficulty commuting to school because of downed trees, anticipated flooding and the weather generally creating a hazard.
Some Seattle area and western Washington schools closed earlier in the week because of the extreme weather and power outages, KOMO News reported.
Contributing: Reuters