High-Area Snow and High-Velocity Clouds in Sonoma Valley. Snow and Flash Floods in the Sierra Nevada

There were no mountain passes in the Sierra Nevada on Saturday after the winter storm brought strong winds, heavy rain, and a lot of snow.

The weather service office in Sac said that the snow totals were expected to be 1-2 feet, with some of the higher altitudes seeing 3 feet or more.

A 70-mile (112-kilometer) stretch of eastbound U.S. Interstate 80 was closed “due to zero visibility” from Colfax, California to the Nevada state line, transportation officials said. Chains were required on most of the rest of I-80 in the mountains.

The U.S. Forest Service issued an avalanche warning for the backcountry in the mountains west of Lake Tahoe where it said “several feet of new snow and strong winds will result in dangerous avalanche conditions.”

The National Weather Service said that winds of 50 mph to 80 mph could hit Sonoma County on Saturday and could reach 100 mph over the Sierra ridgetops on Sunday.

San Francisco experienced its worst 10-day period on record last week. So far they have had more than a foot of rain just since December 1, and the forecast calls for an additional 3 to 5 inches of rain in the next five days.

On Saturday there was a flash flood warning issued by the weather service after inches of rain fell on burn scars left by the wildfires.

Weather Forecasts for California, South Dakota, and Minnesota During Saturday’s Power Outage and Down Trees in Sonoma County, California

More than 15000 customers were affected by Saturday’s power outages, according to the online map. “SMUD crews are responding to outages across the region during this powerful winter storm,” the utility said in a Twitter message, adding that it was preparing additional resources while working to restore power.

San Francisco Bay Area officials reported power outages and fallen trees, some of which damaged cars and homes. In Monte Rio, a small town along the Russian River in Sonoma County, firefighters responded to several reports of downed trees crashing into homes in 50 mph wind gusts.

Monte Rio Fire Department Chief Steve Baxman told KRON-TV that four different down trees had damaged houses in the area and that no injuries were reported.

“This is our first big storm, we’ve had several years of drought and all these trees were dry. They’re starting to topple over because they’re filling up with water.

The weather service said that some areas of California that rarely see snow could start to get some starting Thursday. Additionally, flood watches have been issued for lower-elevation areas, including Los Angeles.

There is a storm threat that begins Monday in the South and southern central US. A slight threat for severe weather has been issued for parts of western and central Kansas and Oklahoma into northwestern Texas.

There’s also a slight risk, level 2 of 5, the storm could bring tornadoes, strong winds, and large hail to Dallas, Fort Worth, and New Orleans. Isolated tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds are possible in Houston, Memphis, and Little Rock.

Residents of Fargo, North Dakota, will be under a winter storm watch from late Monday night until late Wednesday night as there’s a chance of 6 inches of snow. Duluth, Minnesota, could also see 6 inches of snow and will be under a winter storm watch starting Tuesday morning.

“The snowpack is about 225% of normal, so it’s more than twice what we’d be expecting this time in December,” said Mark Deutschendorf, forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Reno.

“It looks a lot like Christmas out here,” Deutschendorf said. “It didn’t come with a lot of wind, and it stuck to everything. It’s like a picture postcard.”

He noted the snow totals so far were impressive, but he is cautiously optimistic that this precipitation will be a big help towardsquenching the state’s fire hazard.

The Buried Ski Resort: Weather Forecasts for the Fourth and Fifth Snowfall in 24 Hours, and Predictions for State Routes and Highways in the Midwestern US

The ski resort wrote on its website that it was Buried, and shared photos of thick snow covering the resort.

“This is definitely a storm to remember. We’ve now received 7.5 feet of snow since December 1st. Plus, in just 24 hours from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, we received more than 35 inches of snow — the 6th largest snowfall total in 24 hours that we have on record,” resort operators wrote.

A powerful storm system that brought flooding and power failures to California, as well as winter weather advisories for more than 15 million people from the West Coast to Illinois, is pushing into the Central US Monday.

The coast-to-coast storm – which walloped the West over the weekend – is expected to strengthen as it pushes eastward Tuesday, and stall across the central Plains into Thursday, snarling travel amid blowing snow and freezing rain.

The storm, which first hit the Western US with much-needed snow and rain, resulted in winter storm alerts stretching from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.

The heavy snow and strong winds can ultimately result in near zero visibility for those in the area, even when snow stops falling because high winds can blow the flakes off the ground. Weather alerts have urged extreme caution when traveling.

The problems come in for the second round. Up to 2 feet of snow in the Midwest could be seen along with 50 mph wind gusts. Travel will be nearly impossible during this time.

There are bad travel conditions expected Thursday in many areas. Parts of the West, the northern Plains and Great Lakes could see snowfall of up to 2 inches per hour on Thursday, while winds as high as 40 to 50 mph are predicted. Significant impacts that will include major disruptions to travel, infrastructure, livestock, and recreation will be caused by the combination.

The National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota, said travel through the area will be nearly impossible Tuesday and Wednesday, and possibly into Thursday.

• Road closures in several states: Perilous conditions triggered highway closures on several states Wednesday, including South Dakota, Wyoming, Arizona, North Dakota and Minnesota.

More than 65 million people across 29 states from as far west as California to Minnesota through Maine are under winter weather alerts that warn of severe icing, extreme cold and sleet that are likely to make travel miserable Wednesday and knock out power to some.

In Anchorage, Alaska, an “unprecedented amount of snowfall” has led to schools being closed for four days and shut down the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University on Monday.

The impact of high-energy tornadoes on California’s southern hemisphere and the Mississippi Valley, according to the Weather Prediction Center

Tuesday also brings a risk of flash flooding due to excessive rainfall “from far east Texas into the lower Mississippi Valley,” warns the Weather Prediction Center. Up to 4 inches of rain could fall.

The areas that need the moist weather have seen a lot of relief from the dry conditions. In Tennessee, from 98% of the state being under water to 50% this week, that’s a huge change.

More than 100,000 homes and businesses are without electricity in several counties early Saturday as the temperatures plummeted, with Northern California possibly seeing below- freezing temperatures.

The average river is 20 times larger in water than the Mississippi River. California is prone to floods from these storms as they come ripping off the Pacific Ocean, but climate change is raising the stakes with millions of people likely to be impacted.

More than 15 million people in the West are under wind alerts from the National Weather Service through at least Tuesday evening as the storm system pushes inland.

“Strong, possibly damaging, winds…with gusts as high as 60 mph” are forecast for the Portland metro & Willamette Valley through at least 3 pm PST, according to the NWS in Portland. Along the coast gusts are forecast 50 to 70 mph.”

The weather service in San Francisco said Friday that it really isn’t much to bring trees down given saturated conditions and weakened trees from the last event.

After the dry summers of the past couple years, heat domes and other hot weather events have damaged trees and made it difficult for them to fight off infections.

New Year’s Eve Storms and the Los Angeles Public Radio Frequency Record Revisited: Sunday, December 26th, 1996

The old record for Portland’s rain was 1.08″, which was recorded on December 26, 1996. Monday was the third-wettest December day on record.

• Saturday: The accrual of back-to-back heavy rainfall events could lead to even more significant flood impacts possibly including rising waters and mudslides in Northern and central California. There’s a chance of flash flooding and debris flows.

The weather service in Los Angeles said goodbye to warm weather. “Big drop in temperatures on track between today and tomorrow (Tuesday). Expect 15-20 degrees of cooling thanks to the approaching storm system.”

Damaging winds and rain are expected Wednesday morning through the afternoon in parts of Oklahoma into western Arkansas, across Missouri and western Illinois, according to the National Weather Service

There’s a chance of another significant system coming after Monday and Tuesday. There is a new system that is going to affect Northern California at the end of the week, though it is still too far out for more information.

That means New Year’s Eve celebrations Saturday will likely be dampened in New York City and Washington, DC. Los Angeles, too, is expected to ring in a soggy new year.

Atmospheric flooding warnings across California before and after the Great Thunder Event on Dec. 20, 2019 in Buffalo, New York, and the Sierra

Over 15 million people are under flood watches across much of California ahead of this atmospheric river event which could bring several more inches of rain to the state through Tuesday.

Rain will also fall in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, adding to the melting snow and prompting localized flood concerns as the city continues to recover from its deadly blizzard. Additional rain is expected early next week.

“The slight risk area mostly highlights places that are already high in soil moisture, burn scars and urban areas,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

The section of I-70 in Colorado open for travel again after a nine-hour shut down due to heavy mountain snow and widespread rain.

Dangerous conditions Tuesday in Oregon left five people dead, including a 4-year-old girl, after severe weather caused trees to fall on passing vehicles, state police said.

Landslides already had closed routes in the San Francisco Bay Area, between Fremont and Sunol, as well as in Mendocino County near the unincorporated community of Piercy and in the Mendocino National Forest, where crews cleared debris into Friday night.

Humboldt County, where a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck on Dec. 20, also saw roadways begin to flood, according to the National Weather Service’s Eureka office. If the Eel River gets too high, there is a chance the bridge will be closed again.

The weather service predicts that the storm will drop an inch of rain in the Sacramento area. One ski resort south of Lake Ayres closed its chair lifts because of flooding and operational problems and posted on the internet a picture of empty chairs surrounded by water.

Fire officials planned to broadcast warnings of flooding from a helicopter and boat along the American River, where many people live without homes.

In addition to the heavy rainfall, another round of strong winds is expected to accompany the storm as it pushes inland, which could lead to even more downed trees and power lines causing additional power outages.

Flood watches and warnings are still in effect for the Sierra’s east front as well as the north and south of Reno, Nevada where moderate to major flooding was forecast over the weekend.

At Susanville, California about 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Reno, the Susan River was forecast to rise from about 5 feet (1.5 meters) Friday to a foot (30 centimeters) above the flood stage of 12 feet (3.6 meters) by Saturday morning, causing moderate flooding that could affect some homes, roads and bridges, the National Weather Service said.

LOS ANGELES — California was drying out and digging out on New Year’s Day after a powerful storm brought drenching rain or heavy snowfall to much of the state, snarling traffic and closing major highways.

At one point Saturday, officials ordered residents in Wilton – roughly 20 miles from Sacramento – to leave the area immediately, warning that rising water may spill over onto roadways and cut off access to leave the area. The water made the roads unreliable, so the residents were told to shelter in place.

US Highway 101 was temporarily closed in South San Francisco because of high tides and non-stop rainfall, which made it impossible for the water to be washed away.

The car that appeared to be stuck in more than a foot of water was photographed by the police department.

The Sacramento Valley Department of Public Works and Emergency Services declared a State of Emergency in the First 48 Hours of the Fourth American River Flooding Season

There were several storms expected to roll across the state within a week. Hannah Chandler-Cooley from the National Weather Service said the system was cooler and wetter on Saturday.

And as streets flooded and river water levels rose, the storm also forced residents of several small communities in northern California out of their homes on New Year’s Eve as evacuation orders and warnings were issued.

On top of urban flooding, several rivers began overflowing, including the Cosumnes and Mokelumne rivers and the Mormon Slough, according to the National Weather Service in Sacramento. Flood warnings were issued for the southern Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills.

Three communities near the city of Watsonville were also told to evacuate by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office due to creek flooding, while the rising San Lorenzo River waters prompted evacuations in the communities of Paradise Park and Felton.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews were kept busy on Saturday, performing water rescues and responding to fallen trees on homes and cars, and to drivers whose vehicles became disabled after they drove through standing water, officials said.

Calling it “Stormageddon,” the Amador County Sheriff’s Office shared an image of cars up to their doorhandles in floodwaters and said there’s been reports of flooding, mudslides and trees blocking roadways.

Highway 50 was reopened just after midnight, hours after a section between Pollock Pines and Meyers was closed due to flooding from the American River, while another section was closed over Echo Summit for avalanche control work.

The county declared a state of emergency because of the atmospheric river causing significant transportation impacts, rising creek and river levels and flooding.

Sacramento Counties During the December 26-27 Storm: Floods and Mudding Slides in a High Snowfall and the First Day of the Rose Parade

Indeed, San Francisco experienced its wettest 10-day period on record for downtown since 1871, according to a Thursday tweet from the local weather service. The agency said that the area experienced over 10 inches of rain between December 26 and Wednesday.

Over a foot of new snow fell at Mammoth Mountain’s Main Lodge Saturday, the ski resort said on Facebook, adding that work will take place across the mountain since all lifts were coated in ice and “avalanche danger is extremely high.”

The California Highway Patrol reported that it was dangerous to drive on the Nevada State line with many vehicles stuck in the snow.

Dozens of drivers were rescued on New Year’s Eve along Interstate 80 near Lake Tahoe after cars spun out in the snow, the California Department of Transportation said. The key route to the mountains from the San Francisco Bay Area reopened early Sunday to passenger vehicles with chains.

Aerial video from CNN affiliate KCRA showed cars submerged past their doorhandles in flood waters from Highway 99 and the Dillard Street area. Chris Schamber is a fire captain with the Cosumnes Fire Department.

Spectators began staking out their places for the annual Rose Parade, which is taking place on Monday despite the lack of rain in the region.

At least two people died during the storm, one of whom was found dead inside a submerged car in Sacramento County on Saturday and another who died after being struck by a fallen tree at a Santa Cruz park.

Then came more flood worries: Sacramento County authorities on Sunday escalated an evacuation warning for the community of Point Pleasant to an evacuation order, saying flooding was imminent and would “become incredibly dangerous after sunset.”

The Cosumnes River and the Mokelumne River may reach areas in the middle of the night, according to the agency.

People who have been affected by floods and mudslides in Northern California may be in for a rough year.

It’s the third atmospheric river to hit the region since Dec. 26, the office said, adding that parts of the Russian River are now at particular flood risk. The storm’s high winds could cause severe damage in areas where the soil is already saturated with rain.

Mary Spencer-Gode and other dwellers of Sacramento stood at the scene of a huge elm tree that was felled on New Year’s Eve.

“The wind was just going crazy,” she told Capital Public Radio. “We turned our TV off so we could hear it, and I was sitting in the kitchen, I heard a big ‘woosh’ and kind of the house moved.”

The NWS warns the West Coast is “not going to get wet” after a five-year-old storm last Saturday night

“It’s just a wide area of high water that gets moved to the higher latitudes before a cold front arrives,” as an NWS senior forecaster told NPR recently.

For states along the West Coast, atmospheric rivers are “actually responsible for a good majority of the rainfall during the colder season, which is the season when they get most of their rain,” Oravec said.

The precipitation can be extreme: a single atmospheric river “can carry more water than the Mississippi River at its mouth,” as NPR has reported. And forecasters have long warned that the systems’ winds are very dangerous. Five years ago, one of the storms toppled the legendary “Pioneer Cabin Tree” sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

Forecasters have been raising alarms about the storm for days now, saying it could start to affect land as early as Tuesday night. But they also predicted it would move slowly; as of late Wednesday morning, the system was still approaching the West Coast.

The NWS office in Oxnard and Los Angeles says the storm should surpass the Saturday night storm by at least an inch and likely more in the upslope areas.

“The public is urged to be on the lookout for potential flooding and mudslides in areas recently burned by wildfires,” state officials warned. “A debris flow can take homes off their foundations and carry items such as vegetation, large boulders, and cars.”

The impact of a powerful bomb cyclone on coastal communities: Precursors to the next megaflood and drought busters in California

A powerful bomb cyclone slammed into the California coast Wednesday night, lashing the state with heavy downpours and hurricane-force winds as the storm advanced onshore.

This weekend the main concerns for the coastal communities will be widespread flooding, gusty winds, and dangerous beach and marine conditions. The higher altitudes will see heavy snow and strong winds that can lead to whiteout conditions on the roads.

As wells run dry and reservoirs drain, Julie Kalansky, a climate scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, said these storms are desperately needed more than ever to alleviate the drought, despite the hazards they bring in some areas.

“They’re two sides of the same coin: they can be extremely beneficial because they bring so much of California’s water supply to the state or they can also be drought busters,” Kalansky told CNN. They come back-to-back when the duration becomes too long, that can lead to flooding, because the landscape isn’t allowed to absorb all the rain.

A study authored by Swain found that climate change will double the chances of a catastrophic megaflood happening in California in the next four decades.

“While some of the forecast rain totals are impressive alone, it is important to note that what really sets this event apart are the antecedent conditions,” the National Weather Service office in San Francisco said. Multiple systems over the past week have saturated soil, increased flow in rivers and streams, and set the stage for this to become a high impact event.

Nancy Ward is the new director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and said at a late morning news conference that the storm might be one of the most challenging and impactive in the last five years.

People in the areas that are covered by the weather experts were warned on Wednesday to be prepared for a potential power loss as well as high winds and trees falling onto power lines.

The National Weather service said a snowstorm with up to a foot of snow and 80 mph winds was possible in areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties that had not seen one before.

A State Emergency Declaration and a Flood Warning for California Bomb Cyclones: The Case of a 17-Day Mudslide

The state’s governor issued a statewide emergency declaration earlier in the day, allowing for quick dissemination of aid for those affected by the storm.

As the storm marched towards California, firefighters and rescue equipment were stationed near burn scar areas across seven counties, as well as five other counties with flooding concerns, state officials said.

The site of a mudslide that killed 23 people and splintered more than 100 homes in Santa Barbara in the summer of last year is one of the areas ordered to evacuate.

Das Williams is the first district supervisor in Santa Barbara County. If you live in the red zone, we should have learned five years ago that playing it safe and staying out of harms way is a better way to go.

Officials in Monterey County also started setting up evacuation points and emergency shelters ahead of the storm’s arrival, according to the sheriff’s Facebook page.

Rockslides forced the closure of a long stretch of coastal Highway 1 in both directions from Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County to south of Big Sur in Monterey County, according to the California Department of Transportation.

The mayor of San Francisco said that floods are likely in the city as a flood warning was in place.

The San Francisco fire department shared pictures of a crew working to remove a tree that was on top of a car, hours after they rescued a trapped family.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/05/weather/california-bomb-cyclone-flooding-powerful-winds/index.html

Oakland County Sheriff’s Office says a Moderate Rainstorm was Detected Wednesday evening by a High-rise Inflating a California Home

And earlier in the day, there were reports of falling glass from a downtown high rise in Fox Plaza, though no injuries were reported. “It is unknown at this time if this is wind-related – highly possible though,” the San Francisco Fire Department said in a tweet.

The city of Oakland declared a local emergency on Wednesday, bracing for storm damage and potential threats to public safety.

California’s largest gas and electric utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric, reported the storm was damaging its equipment and causing widespread outages Wednesday evening.

There is a number of trees falling into our lines and other impacts on our power system. We have mobilized for a major repair and restoration effort.

Several Southern California Edison crews are helping in the response, according to the vice president of the Bay Area region of Pacific Gas and Electric.

However, the storm is expected to saturate roads and down trees which may make it difficult for crews to access areas experiencing outages, Johnson said.

In a video on the Facebook page of the electricity provider, a meteorologist said that the storm was going to be ranked near the top.

After much of California was lashed with heavy rain and damaging winds Wednesday and Thursday that flooded roads, toppled trees and knocked out power to most across the state, daytime Friday will bring some relief before another storm moves in at night.

A woman died when her car crashed into a utility pole on a partially flooded road in Northern California due to excessive rain. The driver lost control of the vehicle after hitting a patch of standing water and crashed into a utility pole, police said.

The young child, who is about 1 or 2 years old, was killed in Northern California on Wednesday when a tree fell on a home.

The Impact of Sunday Night’s Deep Flooding on Areas in the Northern and Central Valleys of California: El Nios and La Nia Forecasts

In nearby San Francisco, some saw localized flooding, mudslides and sinkholes as of Wednesday evening, said Mary Ellen Carol, executive director of the city’s emergency management department.

• Also Saturday: An additional 1 to 2 feet of snow threaten to make travel dangerous in areas above 5,000 feet in mountains of Northern and central California, the Weather Prediction Center said.

The ground is saturated from record rainfall earlier this week and the cumulative effect of the new rain is expected this weekend, so even a 40 mph wind can do damage.

Concerns for local streams, creek and rivers will be brought about by the weekend’s rain. The gauge on the Colgan Creek is currently above flood stage, and is expected to be in the next few days.

El Niño and La Niña forecast patterns put out by the Climate Prediction Center give guidelines on what the overall forecast can be during a seasonal time period.

“During a La Niña, typically the Pacific Northwest sees wetter than normal conditions and Southern California sees drier than normal conditions,” Marybeth Arcodia, a postdoctoral researcher at Colorado State University said. The jet stream is being pushed north and that is the reason for this. “

“Atmospheric rivers typically form during the winter months and can occur during El Niños or La Niñas,” Arcodia said, noting their strength, frequency, and landfall location can be influenced by the larger patterns in the Pacific.

Forecast Patterns and What They Tell Us About Weather, Power, Communications, and Winds in the Outer Ocean: Analysis of Monday’s Snow and Its Implications for the West Coast

Michael Tippett, a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, points out that the forecast patterns are not meant to be used on a day-to-day forecast scale but rather the entire season as a whole. This is why researching the patterns is so important.

There is a randomness that is not explained by the patterns. It might help us understand why the year is different.

State officials were keeping an eye on three other systems farther out in the ocean and were closely monitoring Monday’s incoming storm, according to Michael Anderson.

The city’s communications infrastructure, cellular and internet, is underground so “as we get more inundation from the rain, we’re seeing more failure around those, what we call lifeline systems” for power and communication, said Carroll.

This has led the prediction center to issue a Level 3 out of 4 risk for excessive rainfall for over 15 million people in the state on Monday including those in San Francisco, Sacramento, Monterey, Fresno, and Oxnard. A Level 4 out of 4 “high risk” notice may become necessary for Monday if the forecast guidance continues to increase rainfall totals, the prediction center wrote in their discussion Sunday morning.

The weather service in San Francisco said there’s high confidence that this pattern will continue through the next couple of weeks. Since we don’t know how much rain above normal will fall, we can say that the continuation of saturated soils could pose a hazard into the third week of January.

Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the weekly weather newsletter, the CNN Weather Brief, which is released every Monday. You can sign up to receive them all the time.

The storm is already showing signs of life along the West Coast, as snow and rain is already falling across the Pacific Northwest, adding to their already blockbuster snow season.

The Cascade Mountains could see as much as three feet of snow in the highest elevations through Tuesday, while winds in the Pacific Northwest have the potential to gust up to 60 mph. Seas just offshore will be as high as 20 feet, bringing large, breaking waves to coastal areas, causing beach erosion.

“This amount of snow will result in the passes needing to be closed for a period of time which will impact traffic getting to and from Los Angeles,” The National Weather Service office in Hanford, California said.

Those expected conditions have put more than two million people are under blizzard warnings across parts of Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas.

Chicago will see a swath of icy weather on Thursday. Ice could also be a problem for parts of the Ohio Valley, yet pinpointing exactly where it will occur is challenging this far out. Stay tuned with the forecast if you live in these areas, because freezing rain and sleet could halt your travel plans and even cause power outages.

The storm does make it to the Northeast and New England by the end of the week. As of now, it looks like New York City is left out of the snow once again, however, Boston could get a couple of inches.

Wild Weather Forecasts for the Mid-Atlantic Low-Temperature Extremes: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wisconsin and the Dakotas

In Texas and Florida there were record highs of 98 degrees and 87 degrees, respectively. Atlanta had a record temperature in February of 81 degrees, which is the city’s average high in mid-May.

This week will be wild with weather, whether you are buried under three feet of snow, basking in the sunshine, or having a cold day.

Gov. Tim Walz directed the state’s National Guard, the transportation department and the state patrol to be prepared to respond storm impacts, he said on Twitter.

There have been a lot of canceled flights at airports in Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit. On Wednesday, more than 1,600 flights were canceled and an additional 5,200 were delayed. Thursday brought more than 1,700 flights that were canceled and nearly 10,000 that were delayed, according to FlightAware.

There are ice storm warnings for more than five million people in northeastern Iowa and southern Wisconsin. And more than two million people are under blizzard warnings across parts of Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas.

The National Weather Service said that the Upper Midwest could see snow at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour, combined with wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph. That unrelenting double whammy is set to create whiteout conditions due to falling and blowing snow.

Statewide Snow and Road Conditions in South Dakota, and Statewide Blizzard Warning for Los Angeles, Ventura, and Northern California, via South Dakota Governor Tom Evers

South Dakota’s governor announced Tuesday the closures of state government executive branch offices Wednesday in more than half of the state’s 66 counties, with plans for employees to work remotely. Additionally, Interstates 29 and 90 partially closed Tuesday night to prepare for the expected snow.

Eastern Wyoming College announced the closure of its main campus. Due to the hazardous weather and road conditions within the area, the school district will conduct a virtual learning day on Wednesday.

The highway patrol said search and rescue activities were underway to recover people who become trapped in heavy snow.

In Minnesota, swaths of which saw 3-7 inches with locally higher amounts as of early Thursday, more than 160 vehicle crashes were reported and dozens of cars spun off roads Wednesday, Minnesota State Patrol spokesperson Lt. Gordon said in a series of messages.

The Gov. Tony Evers declared an energy emergency in Wisconsin on Wednesday due to the snow and icy weather hitting the state.

Out west, in an extremely rare event, California’s Los Angeles and Ventura Counties will be under blizzard warnings from Friday morning through Saturday afternoon, the weather said. That will be the first storm to cause a warning by the weather service in Los Angeles in more than two decades.

High-Temperature Heavy Rain, Winds and Water in the Southern Rockies and South, as Forecasted by the National Weather Service

The difference in temperature between the Northern Rockies and the South was 100 degrees earlier this week because of the winter storm and heat wave.

• Wisconsin airport preemptively closed: Green Bay’s international airport canceled the remainder of its daily flights Wednesday evening and most of its flights Thursday morning.

Governor Janet Mills announced that the state of Maine would be closed on Thursday as the storm is expected to bring significant snow to the state.

Power Outage.us reported that nearly half a million homes and businesses in Michigan were still without power after a powerful winter storm. Wayne County accounted for the most outages at more than 150,000.

Atlanta was 81 degrees on Wednesday, an all-time record in February. Washington, D.C., reached 79 degrees, New Orleans reached 83 degrees and Nashville, Tenn., was 80 degrees on Wednesday.

Just as noteworthy were the unusual warm temperatures seen in Southern and Mid-Atlantic states, the National Weather Service said. On Thursday, both Nashville, Tenn., and Richmond, Va., saw temperatures hit 85 and 83 degrees respectively.

Parts of Southern California likely will see an intense brew of rain, snow and winds that may cause flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

At the same time, forecasters warned mariners near the coast of the state’s SanLuis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties to “seek safe harbor immediately” due to the risk of severeThunderstorms that could produce sudden Waterspouts, powerful enough to “easily overturn boats.” The two counties have an increased risk of tornadoes on land.

San Jose, Napa and other parts of the region have been issued a freeze warning for Friday evening through Saturday morning. The sub-freezing conditions will be especially dangerous to unsheltered populations, crops and unprotected outdoor plumbing.

In the course of the storm, accumulated snow reached over 48 inches in Battle Lake, Wyoming, 32 inches in Dupuyer, Montana, and 29 inches in Park City, Utah.

There is still a chance of more light snow in some parts of southeast Michigan. Meanwhile, across the state, temperatures will be below freezing on Friday. The weather is expected to warm up by Sunday.

The Los Angeles Daily News Report: An Intergalactic Flash Flood Warning as a Warning to Electricity Providers after a Pedestrian Instability

In addition to the snow, some Los Angeles-area roads turned into rivers on Friday after bouts of heavy rain, prompting the weather service to issue a flash flood warning.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the Midwest are still without power, two days after the same weather system struck California and so many other states.

DTE, one of Michigan’s largest electric providers, is restoring power to stricken areas but cautioned it will not be able to return service to most customers before Sunday.

In New England, icy conditions could be to blame for a pileup on the Massachusetts Turnpike.