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By Anna Skinner
Associate News Editor
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An atmospheric river bearing the strongest storm of the season so far slammed into Central and Southern California on Thursday, with impacts expected to last through Friday in many areas.
Newsweek has reached out to the National Weather Service (NWS) Bay Area office by phone for comment.
Why It Matters
NWS meteorologists in California have been warning of the impacts associated with the storm this week, particularly for Southern California, where burn scars from recent wildfires are a significant risk, potentially forming debris flows due to heavy rain.
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Impacts are also expected in Central California, with meteorologists at the NWS office for the Bay Area naming rain, wind and floods as the major hazards affecting the area. Weather alerts are also in place across the Pacific Northwest, including Northern California, Oregon and Washington.
What To Know
A satellite video shared to X, formerly Twitter, by extreme storm chaser Colin McCarthy on Wednesday night shows the strong storm barreling into California.
In a post accompanying the video, McCarthy said the storm would bring up to 7 feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada Crest, life-threatening flash floods and mudslides near the Palisades and Eaton fire burn scars.
There is the possibility of strong winds gusting as high as 80 mph and large waves of up to 45 feet along the Bay Area coast, tornado threats in the Central Valley, up to a foot of rain in the Central Coast and Santa Cruz mountains, a "rare winter storm warning" for Redding, California, and up to 6 inches of rain in Southern California.
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So far this season, much of Southern California has been abnormally dry, spurring concerns of potential impacts once traditionally dry weather arrives in the spring and summer months.
After years of dry conditions, California recently completely emerged from drought, only for the unseasonably arid winter to plunge the southern half of the state back into varying categories of drought.
The incoming storm could help remedy the dry conditions, particularly the snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which supplements California reservoir water levels once the snow melts, and in the rainfall for Southern California. However, too much precipitation too fast can cause life-threatening impacts, particularly around vulnerable areas near the Los Angeles burn scars.
NWS weather alerts in place on Thursday morning reflected the risks, with much of California under a wind, flood and winter weather related watches and warnings.
Further north, myriad winter weather alerts were in place across Oregon, including an ice storm warning.
What People Are Saying
NWS Bay Area in a flood warning: "Flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations is imminent or occurring. Streams continue to rise due to excess runoff from earlier rainfall.
"Low-water crossings are inundated with water and may not be passable. It will take several hours for all the water from these storms to work through local drainage systems."
Storm chaser Colin McCarthy in his post on X: "A classic atmospheric river is barreling into California tonight and will be the strongest storm of the entire winter statewide."
What Happens Next
Most weather alerts associated with the storm are expected to expire by Friday evening, but some might persist through Saturday, such as the flood watches and flood warnings.
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