HEALDSBURG, California — A big storm More snow and record rain fell in California, triggering small landslides and flooding some streets, while across the country blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect Saturday for areas from the Northeast to central Appalachia.
The storm on the west coast arrived in the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, two people were killed and power was knocked out for hundreds of thousands, mostly in the Seattle area, before strong winds swept through Northern California.
Santa Rosa, California, experienced its wettest three-day period on record with about 32 inches of rain on Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service in the Bay Area.
Flooding closed a section of scenic Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in Mendocino County and there was no estimate for when it would reopen, the California Department of Transportation said.
On the East Coast, another storm brought much-needed rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. Parts of West Virginia were under a blizzard warning through Saturday morning, with up to 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow and high winds making travel treacherous.
As Seattle area residents headed into the weekend, more than 112,000 people were still without power from the strongest power plant of the season. atmospheric river – a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the air over land. Crews worked to clear streets of downed lines, branches and other debris, while cities opened warming centers so people facing their fourth day without power could get hot food and plug in their cellphones and other devices.
Gale warnings were issued for the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, and high wind warnings were in effect in parts of Northern California and Oregon. Winter storm warnings were in place for parts of the California Cascades and the Sierra Nevada.
Forecasters predicted both coasts would get a reprieve from the storms as the system in the northeast moves into eastern Canada and the one in the west moves south.
Some relief was already seen in California on Friday evening, where the Humboldt County sheriff’s office downgraded evacuation orders to warnings for people near the Eel River after forecasters said the waterway would see moderate but not major flooding.
The system roared into the West Coast on Tuesday as a “ bomb cyclone”, which occurs when a cyclone rapidly intensifies. It caused strong winds causing trees to fall on roads, vehicles and houses.
Debra Campbell said she sat in the dark with a flashlight that night and couldn’t sleep as high winds battered her home in Crescent City, California. With a huge bang, a 46-meter-high tree fell on her house and car.
“It was just so incredibly scary,” Campbell said. “Once I realized it wasn’t going to come through the ceiling where I was, I was able to get my car keys and my bag. …And I open the front door and it’s just a massive tree.
In the drought-stricken Northeast, more than 2 inches of rain was expected Saturday morning north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.
Despite the mess, the precipitation was expected to help alleviate drought conditions in a state that has seen an exceptionally dry fall.
“It won’t be drought relief, but it will certainly help if this all melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York.
Heavy snow fell across northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains, leading to a series of school closures. Higher highs reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with smaller accumulations in valley towns like Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. More than 85,000 customers in 10 counties lost power and the state transportation department imposed speed limits on some highways.
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Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writers Hallie Golden in Seattle, Janie Har in San Francisco, Manuel Valdes in Issaquah, Washington, Sarah Brumfield in Washington, D.C., Michael Rubinkam in Pennsylvania and John Raby in West Virginia contributed.