SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Accuweather ^ | Friday December 17, 2010 | NWS

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEMS WILL BRING HIGH RAIN AMOUNTS TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THROUGH AT LEAST WEDNESDAY...

MOIST WEST TO SOUTHWEST FLOW ACROSS THE PACIFIC OCEAN WILL SEND A GREAT AMOUNT OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FOR MOST OF THE COMING WEEK. A SERIES OF WAVES WILL IMPACT THE REGION AND PERIODS OF SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ARE EXPECTED.

FOR THIS WEEKEND...THE FOCUS OF THIS MOISTURE WILL BE FROM CENTRAL CALIFORNIA TO THE LOS ANGELES AREA...SO AREAS FARTHER SOUTH TOWARD SAN DIEGO WILL BE ON THE EDGE OF THE HEAVIEST RAIN AND WILL NOT GET QUITE AS MUCH. IN ADDITION...LOW LEVEL WINDS FROM THE SOUTHWEST WILL PRODUCE MUCH HIGHER RAINFALL IN THE MOUNTAINS THAN IN THE LOWLANDS.

THE FIRST WAVE WILL IMPACT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TONIGHT AND SATURDAY AND BRING STEADY LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN. A SECOND WAVE WILL ARRIVE SUNDAY AND BRING SOMEWHAT HEAVIER RAINFALL...THOUGH STILL A STEADY RAIN. THE RAIN WILL BECOME LIGHTER BY MONDAY.

TOTAL RAINFALL ESTIMATES FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT ARE AS FOLLOWS:

SAN DIEGO COUNTY COAST 1.00 TO 1.50 INCHES SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS 1.50 TO 2.00 INCHES ORANGE COUNTY COAST 1.50 TO 2.50 INCHES INLAND EMPIRE 1.25 TO 3.00 INCHES (HIGHEST NORTH) SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS 2.00 TO 5.00 INCHES RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS 2.50 TO 5.00 INCHES SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS 3.00 TO 6.00 INCHES SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MTNS 4.00 TO 8.00 INCHES

NOTE THAT MOUNTAIN TOTALS WILL BE HIGHLY VARIABLE. FOR THE DESERTS...

SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS AROUND ONE-HALF INCH COACHELLA VALLEY LESS THAN ONE INCH APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS AROUND ONE INCH

HEAVY RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED...BUT THEY WILL BE DUE TO LONG DURATIONS AND NOT DUE TO HEAVY INTENSITIES. THEREFORE...THE FLASH FLOOD THREAT WILL BE FAIRLY LOW OVER THE WEEKEND. HOWEVER...SOME LOW LYING SPOTS...ESPECIALLY ALONG STREETS...COULD HAVE MINOR FLOODING...ESPECIALLY SUNDAY. STREAMS AND WASHES WHICH MIGHT NORMALLY BE DRY COULD HAVE WATER FLOWING THROUGH THEM THIS WEEKEND.

SNOW LEVELS WILL BE QUITE HIGH THROUGH MONDAY. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL REMAIN ABOVE 8000 FEET...CONFINED TO THE HIGHEST PEAKS OF SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES.

BREEZY SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE DURING THE WEEKEND WITH THE MOUNTAIN WIND SPEEDS AS HIGH AS 25 TO 35 MPH WITH SOME GUSTS TO 50 MPH. STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE ON THE RIDGES AND DESERT SLOPES.

FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK...THE STRONG JET STREAM WILL SHIFT SOUTH INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AS THE EAST PACIFIC TROUGH MOVES TO THE COAST. THIS WILL BRING SEVERAL PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN ANYWHERE FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE HEAVY RAIN WILL FALL ON TOP OF SATURATED SOILS AND COULD PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING THEN. DUE TO THE SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT...SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN HIGH.

RESIDENTS AND VISITORS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SHOULD STAY INFORMED DURING THIS UPCOMING WET WEATHER. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS.

[presently no screen name]

Thank you. Wondering if her flight will be canceled.

[NormsRevenge]

Jet stream

[tubebender]

Them Thar are a classic La Nina connection Norm...

[NormsRevenge]

We be hosed, Bro.

Looks like a mess lies ahead.. a big wet one..

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

For Disneyland:

Weather Report -- Disney's California Adventure Park, California

********************************************

Light Rain

56°F

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Mild tonight...56 ...

[NormsRevenge]

West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada
Forecasts for California
http://www.wunderground.com/US/CA/069.html
Current Severe Weather

Winter Storm Warning

Statement as of 8:05 PM PST on December 17, 2010

... Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 10 PM PST Sunday
above 5000 feet...

A Winter Storm Warning heavy snow above 5000 feet remains in
effect until 10 PM PST Sunday.

* Snow accumulations: six to eight feet of snow above 7000
feet... especially south of Interstate 80... by Monday
morning. Two to four feet of snow above 5000 feet.

* Elevation: above 5000 feet.

* Timing: snow will fall throughout the warning period. Very
heavy snow is expected tonight... and again tomorrow night
into Sunday afternoon. Snow will taper off to scattered snow
showers late Sunday night. Snow may mix with or change to
rain over Donner Pass and Carson Pass tonight.

* Locations include: the west slopes of the northern Sierra Nevada
including Interstate 80 and highways 50 and 88.

* Winds: south to southwest winds of 20 to 35 mph. Over the
higher passes and exposed areas... southwest wind gusts up to
70 mph are possible.

[Ron C.]

Not so sure about flight cancellations - but, that ~could~ happen late Saturday or Sunday - although it isn't usual that heavy rain causes that many cancellations. I've flown in many a rough downpour, and landed (albeit with a few very rough rides) without many problems.

I've also hit the ceiling of one aircraft in one of those storms - when we hit a sever downdraft. Everyone was told to belt up - afterward... lol

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Nice...Looks like the Wasatch are getting snow too.

The WEST needs Lots and Lots of moisture...bring it on!!!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

You guys are really gonna get it!

But save some water for us...we like that water from up North!

[Mike Darancette]

This was supposed to be a La Nina year with little rain. Now we got the Pineapple Express being sucked in by a low off Oregon.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Snow is good....bring it on!

[presently no screen name]

Thanks, again. She’s traveling from her home in MA to LA - I hate to see her land somewhere else or stranded at the airport waiting to get out or not be able to get to the hotel.

She’ll be leaving LA on Wednesday - will the worse be over by then from what you can tell?

[Marine_Uncle]

"get 10 to 15 feet of snow..... UNreal!"
And that is what the animals are going to be saying. Central and Southern California will have plenty of water this coming spring and summer. We just got a dusting of about an inch of snow yesterday. We got spared thus far the storms that hit further north and north west.

[presently no screen name]

Snow accumulations: six to eight feet of snow above 7000 feet... especially south of Interstate 80... by Monday morning. Two to four feet of snow above 5000 feet.

I can't imagine! Is this anywhere near normal for that area?

[MHGinTN]

It is just starting to get back to normal snow pack. When I lived in CA in the sixties, the winter resorts would get six feet of snow regularly.

[tubebender]

We're all DOOMED!!! This site is like a crystal ball as you glide your cursor across the timeline in blue at the bottom after you set it to Pac Time...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

In the Good years you will get two or three storms like this....

Check the ski reports for Mammouth and the other resorts around Tahoe.

[tubebender]

Ten day Forecast for the north coast region, but don't panic as this is normal for us...

[Inyo-Mono]

stboz“California has no freaking clue about weather....”

stilloftyhenight:The geophysical properties don’t correlate. The West is largely sand..it tends to turn into flash floods and large landslides. A couple of inches of rain can cause huge problems in the West.

Absolutely correct stillofttyhenight. We had a half hour thunderstorm last August that brought a wall of water four feet high and 100 feet wide that roared down a canyon and took several simi-trucks off the highway and buried the road under four feet of mud. Right now it is snowing heavily here in the Sierra, with 110 mph winds predicted for tomorrow and a high danger of avalanches. So yes, we know about weather here in California.