The East and West coasts face a «double whammy» of powerful storms Tuesday, and storm-plagued California faces potentially «catastrophic» flooding as the Northeast braces for a powerful Northeast, forecasters said.
A coastal low is expected to quickly strengthen into a major northeast storm that will significantly affect the Northeast through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.
The weather service warned early Tuesday that speeds of more than 2 to 3 inches per hour were expected and high winds that would make travel «dangerous or impossible.» He said the very wet nature of the snow, combined with top wind gusts of 55 mph, would also likely cause power outages and tree damage.
By early Tuesday morning, travel was already being affected by severe weather, with a ground stop issued for Delta Air Lines at LaGuardia Airport until at least 6:30 am ET due to snow and ice.
Snow totals of 12 inches or more were forecast for swaths of New England and upstate New York, with localized maximum totals of 24-30 inches possible, he said.
National Grid said in a statement that its storm preparedness team was «monitoring the weather forecast and preparing to ensure power supply system reliability» ahead of the Northeast.
By Monday night, the Northeast had brought heavy rain to Philadelphia as it moved up the East Coast. Five New Jersey counties were under a weather-related state of emergency, with up to a foot of snow expected along Pennsylvania’s I-80 corridor, according to the National Weather Service.
‘Lives and property’ at risk in California
In California, the National Weather Service warned that excessive rainfall in parts of the central and southern areas of the state could cause «severe and widespread flash flooding» that could endanger «life and property.»
The warning came as a front stretching from the Rocky Mountains north to central California was expected to bring a wave of low pressure ashore over the Golden State on Tuesday, the weather service said.
The storm is expected to bring heavy rain to parts of California, while elevated areas face heavy snow. Oregon and the Great Basin are also expected to experience heavy rainfall, he said.
The severe weather could create significant «locally catastrophic flooding impacts» for parts of California as it moves south across much of the California coast, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills, the weather service said.
“Heavy rains, combined with snowmelt on terrain below 5,000 feet, caused more widespread flooding Tuesday through Wednesday, particularly at low elevations and areas with shallow snowpack,” the weather service said.
“Heavy rain absorbed by particularly deep snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, coupled with heavy snowfall, measuring in excess of 7,500 feet, will further exacerbate ongoing snow load impacts and issues,” the service said. meteorological.
The weather service’s Weather Prediction Center issued a High Risk for excessive rain in parts of Central/Southern California through Wednesday morning in preparation for the storm’s impact.
“Areas that do not normally experience flash flooding will be inundated,” the weather service said, warning that “lives and property are in great danger Tuesday through Wednesday.”
A discussion of the National Weather Service forecast covering the San Francisco Bay Area Monday night through Tuesday said: «Damaging high winds, power outages, additional flooding and road closures are anticipated.»
«Avoid unnecessary travel and complete all preparations as soon as possible,» he said.
The threat of excessive rainfall was expected to ease Wednesday to a marginal risk in parts of Southern California and the Southwest through Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said.
California deals with a streak of storms
The new round of severe weather comes after extensive flooding and high winds over the weekend.
More than 200 people in the lowlands north of Salinas have been rescued by first responders, including members of the California National Guard, authorities said at a news conference Monday, with a video showing a member of the Guard Help a driver get out of a car trapped by water.
Monterey County, a national agricultural center, was hit hard by the weekend storm, with approximately 2,000 residents of the city of Pajaro under evacuation orders after a 300-foot breach in an adjacent river levee began. to open early Saturday, authorities said.
A second, smaller breach was reported Monday near the mouth of the river, said Maia Carroll, a Monterey County spokeswoman. Officials believe that this can be beneficial.
“The water flows into the ocean and relieves flooding upstream,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service in Sacramento confirmed Monday that a tornado had touched down in the Tuttletown area, about 50 miles west of Yosemite National Park, on Saturday. Forecasters said it was an EF-1 vortex, meaning it had sustained winds of at least 79 mph. Severe thunderstorms and hail had accompanied the tornado, the weather service said.
denis romero and joseph cradduck contributed.