Quickmoving Archives - DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS

‘Intense and quick-moving’ snowstorm kilos Sierra, Tahoe

Daily SF News — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 09:14:53 +0000

Ryan Malhoski walks Baxter as snow falls in South Lake Tahoe during a fast-moving storm on Saturday.

Maggie Creamer/The Chronicle

Baxter runs along a South Lake Tahoe road as snow falls during an intense storm on Saturday.

Maggie Creamer/The Chronicle

A South Lake Tahoe road is covered with snow as the area falls under a winter storm warning on Saturday.

Maggie Creamer/The Chronicle

An “intense and quick-moving” snowstorm struck portions of the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades on Saturday, with weather officials warning travelers to avoid mountain travel through Sunday morning.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the particularly conditions expected to pelt the mountain areas of the Sierra Nevada with up to 2 feet of snow at its highest peaks.

“It’ll become very difficult for Caltrans or any of the highway departments to clear the roads,” said Jeffrey Wood, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “And with that heavy snowfall rate, you can experience near-whiteout conditions.”

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Heavy snowfall accumulations were expected in Mount Shasta City, Dunsmuir, Donner Pass and Truckee, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service. Donner Summit should accumulate up to 2 feet of snow.

Baxter runs along a South Lake Tahoe road as snow falls during a fast-moving storm on Saturday.Maggie Creamer The Chronicle

The heaviest of the snow pelts were felt Saturday morning into the afternoon, Wood said. Snowfall rates could reach up to 2 inches per hour.

“Typical snowstorms (are) a half an inch or an inch per hour,” Wood said. “Anytime we start to see snowfall rates greater than an inch is when we start seeing the real impactful conditions, particularly on roadways.”

Blizzard-like conditions were possible along Interstate 80 continuing into the evening. Gusty winds of up to 50 mph could snap tree limbs, cause power outages and lead to whiteout conditions. The California Highway Patrol enacted chain requirements for vehicles on I-80 over Donner Summit from Truckee to Eagle Lake late Saturday morning and reported spinouts and collisions by the afternoon.

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Authorities shut down a portion of westbound I-80 in Truckee for just under two hours Saturday afternoon after multiple cars spun out on the road, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officials from Truckee Meadows Fires and Rescue said they had responded to several motor vehicle accidents on the road by Saturday night. The agency warned residents not to travel unless necessary due to the heavy snow conditions.

“SLOW DOWN!! ,” CHP Truckee posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The California Highway Patrol’s Truckee office reported spinouts and collisions on Interstate 80 at Donner Summit during Saturday’s winter storm.

California Highway Patrol

Tahoe Daily Snow, which provides forecasting and measurements, reported accumulations of 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour in the upper mountains, with about 9 inches accumulated around 2 p.m. Saturday.

For those who need to travel, weather officials urge motorists to winterize their vehicles, prepare an emergency kit with warm clothes, food and water, and slow down on their routes.

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The storm system also brought rain and gusty winds to the Bay Area on Saturday. Highs were barely in the 50s in San Francisco, where residents popped out their umbrellas during a heavy afternoon shower.

Heavy rain falls on a pedestrian crossing Fulton Street in San Francisco on Saturday.

Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

A dusting of snow was possible by Sunday in Mount Hamilton in Santa Clara County, the Bay Area’s tallest peak at about 4,200 feet. The valleys of the North, East and South Bay were expected to be near freezing by Sunday morning.

Warren Pederson and Megan Fan Munce contributed to this report.

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D-FW below extreme thunderstorm watch till midday as quick-moving storm hits area

Daily SF News — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 10:53:01 +0000

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for much of southern Dallas County Wednesday morning as a storm capable of producing golf ball-sized hail swept through the region.

The National Weather Service issued the alert around 7:20 a.m., covering most of the county south of Interstate 30 including Mesquite, DeSoto and Cedar Hill. It was originally in effect until 8:15 a.m. before being extended to 9 a.m. The alert also expanded to cover parts of downtown Dallas.

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The post D-FW below extreme thunderstorm watch till midday as quick-moving storm hits area appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Fast-moving storm brings helpful rain to Monterey Peninsula – Monterey Herald

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:10:28 +0000

MONTEREY – A fast-moving storm brought about a third of an inch of rain to the Monterey Peninsula from Monday night through Tuesday morning, not only bringing useful moisture to the area but also slowing morning commutes.

“It was a nice little system that happened quickly,” said David King, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Monterey office. “It made a number of showers from Sonoma County and San Francisco all the way down to Monterey County.”

While the storm tapped tropical moisture through an atmospheric river, it wasn’t as severe as last month’s storm, which brought gusts of winds in excess of 50 mph and rain in Monterey County, causing minor flooding and widespread power outages. The Monterey County’s regional fire protection district responded to a mudslide in the River Road area Tuesday morning, with the scars from the River Fire likely contributing to the mess.

The Monterey County regional fire protection district responded Tuesday to a mudslide along River Road south of Salinas. (Courtesy of the Monterey County Regional Fire Department)

“There were a few pulses that were a bit stronger, but mostly we just had nice little rain showers overnight,” said King.

Monterey Airport received 0.38 inches of rain from the storm while Salinas Airport received 0.52 inches of rain. Watsonville received 0.93 inches of rain. The weather service said the rain-shadow effect was fully effective, with much of the San Jose area and the southern Salinas Valley receiving less than 0.05 inches of rain. King said Big Sur and the Santa Lucia Range saw just under an inch of rain in most locations.

“I can’t really comment on the word ‘drought’ because it really is owned by the state, but what we can say is that the atmospheric flow that came in late October and the addition from it certainly add to the fire concerns to disperse. ” he said. “It really helped wet most of the fuel in Monterey County, so any kind of fire concern is incredibly, incredibly minor right now.”

Rainfall totals vary from normal but are close to 200% along much of the Monterey Peninsula and Upper Salinas Valley, King said, while warning that most rain usually falls later in the year.

“We beat that compared to the current average for what we’d expect by early November, and that’s because we usually get our rainfall after Thanksgiving,” he said. “January and February are the big months to get precipitation events. That is certainly a lot of precipitation very early in the year and we are happy to take it, we do not give it back, but we are only at the beginning (the rainy season). “

The forecast calls for the area to dry out for the remainder of the week, with sunny conditions and highs in the Monterey Peninsula in the mid-1960s and lows in the mid-1950s.

“We know we’re entering a slightly drier period,” said King. “We don’t expect too much rainfall before Thanksgiving.”

A muddy field between Castroville and Moss Landing on Tuesday morning. (Tom Wright – Monterey Herald)

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