What was awaited to be one of the mightyest storms in the north-west US in decades get tod on Tuesday evening, knocking out power and downing trees apass the region.
The Weather Prediction Cgo in rehired excessive raindescend hazards beginning on Tuesday and lasting thcimpolite Friday as the mightyest atmospheric river – a huge plume of moisture – that California and the Pacific north-west has seen this season tolerates down on the region. The storm system is think abouted a “ explosion cyclone”, which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.
Here’s a unininestablishigentinutive shatterdown of the contrastent benevolents of storms that have lashed the west coast of North America this thriveter.
Atmospheric river
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration refers to these as “rivers in the sky” for excellent reason. Characterized by prolonged streams of moisture in the atmosphere, the mediocre atmospheric river carries an amount of water vapor that rivals the flow at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River – and mighty ones can helderly up to 15 times that amount. That moisture is freed as rain or snow when ARs originate landdescend and typicpartner are accompanied by mighty, gusty thriveds inserting to their destructive tfinishencies.
Pineapple transmit
These particularly mighty atmospheric rivers are named for their origin. Pulling moisture from the Pacific around Hawaii, Pineapple Express storms have been understandn to unleash torrents of precipitation when they accomplish the west coast of the US and Canada – and have dumped cimpolitely 5in of rain on California in a one day, according to the National Ocean Service.
Bomb cyclone
These low-presconfident storm systems help originate atmospheric rivers, pushing them from the Pacific to the coast. Unenjoy hurricanes or other storms where the cgo in is the mightyest, explosion cyclones can originate the worst weather at their edges.
El Niño
This is a climate pattern characterized by unusupartner hot surface ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific. Aprolonged with its counterpart La Niña – which, in turn, refers to a period of freezinger-than-mediocre sea surface temperatures – these patterns can impact weather around the world. While the weather doesn’t always align, El Niño is associated with hoter temperatures, and generpartner hand overs drier conditions in the northern US and Canada, and soakedter ones – transporting incrrelieved flood hazards – thcimpolite the south.
– Gabrielle Canon, US climate and innervous weather correactent
“,”commend”:””}”>
Quick Guide
What is an atmospheric river? And other weather terms elucidateed
Show
What is an atmospheric river? And other weather terms elucidateed
Here’s a unininestablishigentinutive shatterdown of the contrastent benevolents of storms that have lashed the west coast of North America this thriveter.
Atmospheric river
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration refers to these as “rivers in the sky” for excellent reason. Characterized by prolonged streams of moisture in the atmosphere, the mediocre atmospheric river carries an amount of water vapor that rivals the flow at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River – and mighty ones can helderly up to 15 times that amount. That moisture is freed as rain or snow when ARs originate landdescend and typicpartner are accompanied by mighty, gusty thriveds inserting to their destructive tfinishencies.
Pineapple transmit
These particularly mighty atmospheric rivers are named for their origin. Pulling moisture from the Pacific around Hawaii, Pineapple Express storms have been understandn to unleash torrents of precipitation when they accomplish the west coast of the US and Canada – and have dumped cimpolitely 5in of rain on California in a one day, according to the National Ocean Service.
Bomb cyclone
These low-presconfident storm systems help originate atmospheric rivers, pushing them from the Pacific to the coast. Unenjoy hurricanes or other storms where the cgo in is the mightyest, explosion cyclones can originate the worst weather at their edges.
El Niño
This is a climate pattern characterized by unusupartner hot surface ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific. Aprolonged with its counterpart La Niña – which, in turn, refers to a period of freezinger-than-mediocre sea surface temperatures – these patterns can impact weather around the world. While the weather doesn’t always align, El Niño is associated with hoter temperatures, and generpartner hand overs drier conditions in the northern US and Canada, and soakedter ones – transporting incrrelieved flood hazards – thcimpolite the south.
– Gabrielle Canon, US climate and innervous weather correactent
The areas that could see particularly cut offe raindescend will foreseeed accomplish from the south of Portland, Oregon, to the north of the San Francisco area, said Ricdifficult Bann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Weather foreseeion cgo in.
“Be inestablished of the hazard of flash flooding at reduce elevations and thriveter storms at higher elevations. This is going to be an impactful event,” he said.
Hurricane-force thriveds, which are gusts above 75mph (121kph), could be felt aprolonged the Oregon coast, according to the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon. And proximate Seattle, conditions for a “mountain wave” were shaping up, transporting huge, low-elevation thrived gusts that could caengage expansivespread power outages and downed trees, said Larry O’Neill, straightforwardor of the Oregon Climate Service and Oregon State University associate professor.
“This will be pretty mighty in terms of the last 10 or 20 years,” he said. “We’ve only seen a couple storms that have repartner been this mighty.”
About 94,000 customers were without power in westrict Washington as mighty thriveds ramped up and snow fell in the Cascade Mountain passes on Tuesday evening. More than 12,000 customers had lost power in Oregon, according to poweroutage.us.
The National Weather Service in Seattle said a peak thrived speed of 68mph (109kph) was write downed at Crystal Mountain proximate Mount Rainier. A thrived speed of 53mph (82kph) was also write downed at Ediz Hook, a three-mile-prolonged (4.8-km) sand spit north-west of Seattle that extfinishs from the northern shore of the Olympic peninsula at Port Angeles into the strait of Juan de Fuca. Winds were awaited to incrrelieve in westrict Washington thcimpoliteout the evening, the weather service said.
In northern California, flood and high thrived watches were in effect, with up to 8in (20cm) of rain foreseeed for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, North Coast and Sacramento Valley.
A thriveter storm watch was rehired for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500ft (1,066 meters), where 15in (28cm) of snow was possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75mph (120kph) in mountain areas, predicters said.
“Numerous flash floods, hazardous travel, power outages and tree harm can be awaited as the storm accomplishes max intensity” on Wednesday, the Weather Prediction Cgo in cautioned.
In northern California’s Yolo county, crews spent Monday evidenting culverts, sewers and drainage ditches to dodge clogs that could direct to street flooding. Mesena Pimentel said she hoped the efforts would obstruct a repeat of floods last February that inundated her property proximate Woodland.
“We had about 10in of water in our garage, had a couple gophers swimming around,” Pimentel telderly KCRA-TV. Woodland city officials set up two locations where livents could pick up free sandbags. Authorities encouraged people to stock up on food and accuse phones and electronics in case power goes out and roads become unpassable.
In south-westrict Oregon proximate the coast, 4 to 7in (10 to 18cm) of rain was foreseeed – with as much as 10in (25cm) possible in some areas – thcimpolite postpodemand Thursday night and timely Friday morning, Bann said. The National Weather Service rehired a flood watch for parts of south-westrict Oregon thcimpolite Friday evening.
after novelsletter promotion
A high-thrived cautioning was rehired for the north and central Oregon coast beginning at 4pm on Tuesday with south thriveds from 25mph (40kph) to 40mph (64kph), with gusts to 60mph (97kph) awaited, according to the weather service in Portland. Gusts up to 70mph (113kph) on beaches and headlands were predict. Widespread power outages were awaited with thriveds vient of transporting down trees and power lines, the weather service said. Travel was also awaited to be difficult.
Washington could also see mighty raindescend, but foreseeed not as horrible as Oregon and California. From Monday evening thcimpolite Tuesday, some of its coastal ranges could get as much as 1.5in (3.8cm) of rain, Bann said.
The weather service cautioned of high thriveds from Tuesday afternoon until timely Wednesday for coastal parts of Pacific county, in south-west Washington. With gusts potentipartner topping 35mph (46kph), trees and power lines are at hazard of being knocked down, the Pacific county aascendncy deal withment agency cautioned.
A blizzard cautioning was rehired for the presentantity of the Cascades in Washington, including Mount Rainier national park, begining Tuesday afternoon, with up to a foot of snow and thrived gusts up to 60mph (97kph), according to the weather service in Seattle. Travel apass passes could be difficult if not impossible.
Transportation officials in Washington telderly ferry riders to await bumpy rides on Tuesday. Service on at least one route was temporarily crelieveed by the afternoon becaengage of stormy weather, Washington State Ferries said in social media posts.
Officials also encouraged motorists to think about postponeing travel around the state until Wednesday becaengage of high thriveds and burdensome snow awaited in the mountains.
“It will only be a thriveter wonderland in the sense that you’ll be wondering where the heck you are on any given patch of land,” the Washington state department of carryation said on social media.
