Looks like our water shortages are coming to an end for this year.
Prepare for storm swarm
High winds, rain, snow expected to clobber north state for days
By Dorothy Korber And Carrie Peyton Dahlberg - dkorber@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, January 3, 2008
Batten the hatches – and anything else that's not nailed down – while you can. The first in a potent series of weekend storms is forecast to roll in tonight, bringing gusts of up to 65 mph in Sacramento, 10 feet of new snow to Sierra peaks, and days of hard rain that will swell creeks in the Valley.
The California Highway Patrol advises travelers to get out of the mountains by this afternoon – or find a warm, safe place and stay put.
"Otherwise, be prepared for the absolute worst," said CHP spokeswoman Kelly Baraga.
The absolute worst arrives Friday.
Locally heavy rain and the strongest winds in a decade are predicted beginning Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. On mountain passes, gusts of up to 100 mph will mix with swirling snow to create whiteout conditions.
"We have a blizzard warning in effect from 4 a.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Saturday in the mountains," said Karl Swanberg of the weather service's Sacramento office. "These are life-threatening conditions."
A third storm is forecast for Saturday into Sunday, but Swanberg said there will be little respite between the systems. "By the end of the weekend in the mountains, there could be locations with 10 feet of snow," Swanberg said. "It will be a dumper."
Valley and foothill locations will be doused with 3 to 6 inches of rain by Sunday evening.
Urbanites also will face challenges on local roads and in their own backyards, noted Elissa Lynn, senior meteorologist with the state Department of Water Resources.
Dubbing herself "weather mom," she offered two bits of advice in her online newsletter Wednesday:
"No, don't drive Friday. Really." And, "Take down the outdoor decorations tonight, or early Thursday. Or you'll be picking them out of the trees and neighbors' roof."
The stormy weather likely will continue into next week.
"The amounts of snow will be incredible and winds very, very strong," Lynn said in an interview. "As far as getting us in the right direction waterwise, this is great.
Right now, we're at about 60 percent of average for snowpack – by the time we get through this round of storms, we'll be up to normal."
