Forecasters have released new maps showing the impact of the ‘bomb cyclone’ moving towards the West Coast, showing which states will experience hurricane-like conditions.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned residents in Northern California, Oregon and Washington of possible hurricane force winds, catastrophic flooding and several feet of snow at high elevations as of Tuesday afternoon.
The bomb cyclone, essentially a giant spinning vacuum in the atmosphere, is expected to drag a Category 5 atmospheric river onto land that “will act as a huge rain hose at low altitude and as a giant snow cannon over the high country.”
A wind projection map showed gusts between 60 and 70 miles per hour from Eureka to Coos Bay and along the coast north of Aberdeen.
Places like Klamath Falls, Bend and Penleton, and Seattle, Washington, Oregon can expect winds of between 50 and 60 miles per hour.
A precipitation map predicts precipitation could reach up to two inches in north-central and northwest California, western Oregon and western Washington, and up to 20 inches in northeastern California.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue said on
A map created by Weatherbell.com shows which areas will see the most precipitation from a bomb cyclone and atmospheric river hitting the west coast
Strong wind gusts could cause power outages in all three affected states, especially in areas under high wind warnings.
From Tuesday evening through Wednesday, the atmospheric river will focus mainly on the southwestern coast of Oregon and Northern California AccuWeather.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr said, “Drenching rain from the storm will reach the San Francisco Bay Area, but not until later in the week.
“The heaviest rain will fall near and north of the North Bay and along the Northern California coast, while San Francisco and the South Bay will be in the zone where rainfall will decrease rapidly from north to south.”
Although California, Oregon and Washington will be the only states directly affected by this double-system weather event, storm conditions could extend beyond their borders.
A total of two to four inches of precipitation is expected to fall in Idaho this week, and areas as far east as Kansas and as far south as the California-Mexico border could see as much as an inch of rain.
The heavy precipitation will move to the west coast on Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by strong winds as the bomb cyclone and atmospheric river approach land. WashingtonPost forecaster Ian Livingston reported.
Current forecasts focus on storm conditions from Vancouver Island, Canada, to around the Oregon-California border on Tuesday evening.
A wind projection map showed gusts between 60 and 70 miles per hour from Eureka to Coos Bay and along the coast north of Aberdeen. Places like Klamath Falls in Oregon, Bend and Penleton and Seattle in Washington can expect winds of between 50 and 60 miles per hour
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned residents in Northern California, Oregon and Washington of possible hurricane force winds, catastrophic flooding and several feet of snow at high elevations as of Tuesday afternoon.
“Heading into Wednesday, the atmospheric river will likely slowly shift its focus southward, from southern Oregon to northern California,” Livingston reported.
By the end of the week and into the weekend, high-altitude rain and snow could shift into central or southern California, he added.
The storms will also bring heavy snow to the region, with several inches to a foot over the passes in the Cascades.
Bomb cyclones form when a mid-latitude storm rapidly intensifies over a 24-hour period.
Intensification essentially means a drop in pressure, and storms must drop at least 24 millibars within a 24-hour period to be considered a bomb cyclone.
Maue said the central pressure of this bomb cyclone will drop nearly 70 millibars in 24 hours, reaching pressure levels comparable to a Category 4 hurricane.
It is rare for a storm to lose 70 millibars of pressure so quickly.
By comparison, Hurricane Milton – which quickly strengthened from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane – lost 84 millibars of pressure in 24 hours.
The bomb cyclone will also bring a Category 5 atmospheric river to the West Coast, a long and narrow region of the atmosphere that transports heat and moisture from the tropics to Earth’s poles.
A Category 5 is exceptionally dangerous and causes intense storm effects on land.
As these storm systems move inland, areas affected by fire scars, or charred, barren areas of land left behind by wildfires, will be especially susceptible to flooding.
That’s because burned soil can be just as water-resistant as pavement, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Mudslides and rockslides are also more likely in areas recently affected by wildfires because the loss of trees, vegetation and their roots makes soil unstable and easily eroded.