Topline
The latest coast-to-coast winter storm could dump up to 7 feet of snow on California’s Sierra Nevada mountains this week before sweeping across the country and causing dangerous travel conditions, forecasters warn, with wind gusts, snow and ice expected in the Great Lakes and New England and possibly tornadoes in the Midwest.
Up to 7 feet of snow could fall in the Sierra Nevada mountains, with more snow and ice expected in … [+]
Key Facts
Forecasters with the National Weather Service’s Reno, Nevada, branch warn heavy snow and blizzard conditions will bring zero-visibility conditions and “extremely dangerous or impossible driving conditions,” urging residents to avoid traveling in the Sierra Nevadas, where they expect the storm to have an “extreme impact.”
The NWS has also issued an avalanche warning around the Sierra Nevadas and the Lake Tahoe area in effect through Wednesday morning, warning heavy snow could cause destructive avalanches at higher elevations.
Residents throughout the majority of northern California, Nevada and eastern Oregon are under blizzard and winter storm warnings and advisories as of Monday morning, while most of New England, New York, northern Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota are also under winter storm advisories.
Ice and up to 8 inches of snow are expected in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes states by Wednesday morning, while high-elevation communities in California and Oregon could see as much as 7 feet, with up to 2 inches of snow falling per hour at times, according to the NWS.
Tangent
NWS forecasters also warn parts of the Ohio River Valley remain at risk of damaging wind gusts and tornadoes, after nine tornadoes were reported on Sunday in Kansas and Oklahoma, downing power lines and damaging buildings. A tornado watch is in effect in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio through Monday night.
Surprising Fact
California has already received nearly twice the amount of snowfall this winter that it typically sees over the course of the season, according to the University of California at Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. For drought-prone California, the heavy snow came as good news, and not just for ski resorts, which have seen a boost in crowds this month. That’s because a thicker layer of snow, called snowpack, is essential for replenishing the state’s groundwater as it slowly melts throughout the spring. It’s especially important in California, which has been in the midst of a 22-year mega-drought that’s been the driest in at least 1,200 years—though the state is still in a drought emergency.
What To Watch For
Power outages, canceled flights and poor driving conditions. As of Monday morning, more than 233,000 homes and businesses in the U.S. are without power, with the majority of outages affecting residents in Michigan, California, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas, according to the website poweroutage.us. By comparison, nearly 900,000 households and businesses from California to the Northeast lost power in a string of winter storms last week, while more than 1,000 flights were canceled in a single day.
Further Reading
Nearly 900,000 Without Power As Winter Storms Continue Across U.S. (Forbes)
These maps show how much snow New England can expect during the storm (Boston Globe)
Three rapid-fire storm systems to sweep through Bay Area this week (San Francisco Gate)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/02/27/another-extreme-snow-storm-to-pummel-california-before-moving-east-heres-what-to-expect/