Storm spills see record rainfall in Northern California, while US…

A major storm dropped more snow and record rain in California, causing small mudslides and flooding some streets, while on the other side of the country, blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect Saturday for areas extending from the northeast to the central Appalachians.
The West Coast storm arrived in the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, mostly in the Seattle area, before its strong winds crossed northern California.

Santa Rosa, California, experienced its wettest three-day period on record with about 12 inches of rain falling Friday evening, according to the Bay Area National Weather Service.

Flooding closed part of the scenic Highway 1, also known as Pacific Coast Highway, in Mendocino County and there was no estimate of when it would reopen, according to the California Department of Transportation.

On the East Coast, another storm brought much-needed rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. Parts of West Virginia were under a blizzard warning through Saturday morning, with up to 24 inches of snow and high winds making travel difficult.

As Seattle-area residents headed into the weekend, more than 112,000 people were still without power due to this season’s most powerful atmospheric river – a long plume of moisture that forms above of an ocean and flows into the sky above the land. Crews worked to clear streets of downed lines, branches and other debris, while cities opened warming centers so people entering their fourth day without power could get hot food and plug in their cell phones and other devices.

Gale warnings were issued off the coast of Washington, Oregon and California, and high wind warnings were in effect in parts of northern California and Oregon. Winter storm warnings have been issued for parts of the California Cascades and Sierra Nevada.

Forecasters predict that both coasts would begin to experience a respite from storms as the northeastern system moves toward eastern Canada and the western one heads south.

By Friday evening, some relief was already visible in California, where the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office lowered evacuation orders to warnings for people near the Eel River after forecasters said the waterway would experience moderate but not major flooding.

The system slammed into the West Coast on Tuesday as a “bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone rapidly intensifies. It triggered strong winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes.

Debra Campbell said she sat in the dark with a flashlight that night, unable to sleep as strong winds battered her home in Crescent City, California. With a huge boom, a 150-foot tree came crashing down on his house and car.

“It was incredibly scary,” Campbell said. “Once I realized it wasn’t going to come through the ceiling where I was, I was able to grab my car keys and my purse. …And I open the front door and it’s just a solid tree.

In the drought-stricken Northeast, more than 2 inches of rain were expected Saturday morning north of New York, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.

Despite the mess, precipitation should help ease drought conditions in a state that has had an unusually dry fall.

“It’s not going to combat the drought, but it’s certainly going to help when all this melts away,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York.

Heavy snow fell across northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains, prompting a series of school closures. Higher elevations were reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lower accumulations in Valley cities like Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. More than 85,000 customers in 10 counties lost power and the state Department of Transportation imposed speed restrictions on some highways.

Associated Press