Seattle – A powerful bomb cyclone associated with a major atmospheric river is forecast soak the west coastPotentially life-threatening flooding and blizzard conditions could occur from Washington to California this week.
“Bomb cyclone” comes from the meteorological term “bombogenesis” or “explosive cyclogenesis”.
this happens When the central pressure of a storm system drops by at least 24 millibars within 24 hours.
This storm could be of historic strength. According to NWS Seattle, the lowest pressure recorded in Washington was 942 mb (27.81 inHg) on October 24, 2021.
According to Fox Weather Center, model forecasts indicate the storm will reach this pressure level on Tuesday evening.
‘High risk’ flood threat for Northern California
According to the Fox Forecast Center, a big influx of moisture is set to arrive Tuesday night and stick around through the end of the week, possibly into the weekend.
This system will bring continuous moderate rain for several days. This is likely to cause flooding of roads, drains and even large rivers.
Northern California will be the center of attraction for this atmospheric river.
From Wednesday through Friday, some areas could see 2-4 inches of rain per day, with even more rain possible in the mountains.
That prompted the Weather Prediction Center to issue a rare “high risk” flash flood area for Northern California on Thursday.
Winds of 80 mph possible
As the storm progresses, strong winds will also start blowing on Tuesday evening.
The Fox Forecast Center said winds of 60-70 mph are expected in exposed areas such as mountain ranges, headlands and parts of the coastal plain. The worst winds will move in Tuesday night and will be back by Wednesday.
blizzard in the mountains
In the Cascades, winds will combine with heavy snow to create dangerous blizzard conditions.
There is a possibility that travel will become impossible from Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning.
Like most atmospheric rivers, it will deposit several feet of snow in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada.
However, warm Pacific air being pulled by strong winds will push snow levels higher than normal.
Blizzard warnings have been posted for all of the Cascades from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning.
This is where high winds are most likely to hit the snow and reduce visibility to a quarter mile or less for at least three hours continuously.
Snow is expected to start around 3,500 feet, with the heaviest amounts falling above 4,000 feet, covering mountain ranges with several feet of snow.
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