Residents on both sides of the country are experiencing the full impact of Mother Nature as high wind warnings, flood watches and even a blizzard warning threaten the West Coast, while a Nor'easter dumps more than a foot of snow in some parts of the East Coast.
West Coast rains and wind
California, which has been suffering from an extensive drought, faces a flash flooding threat as three to five inches of rain is forecast from western Washington to northern California from what the National Weather Service describes as a “plume of moisture.”
In the Sierra foothills, forecasters are saying as much as eight inches of rain could bring flash floods, mud and rock slides. Southern California will be spared the torrential rains, expecting only an inch of rain.
A resident of Gelndra, Calif. places sandbags to protect his home from mudslides below mountains burned over in widlfires on Dec. 10. A powerful storm expected to pack hurricane-force winds and heavy rain triggered emergency preparations across Northern California, with residents gathering sand bags, crews clearing storm drains, and San Francisco school officials canceling classes for the first time since 9/11. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
A blizzard warning is out for the Sierra Nevada region as winds ranging from 25 to 50 mph are expected with a possibility of one to three feet of snow through Friday.
According to The Weather Channel, wind is also posing a threat to parts of the Northwest with gusts over 50 mph impacting much of southwest Oregon and northern California, an area that hasn't seen high wind warnings in more than two years. Portland and Seattle are both under high wind warnings, and parts of California could see severe damage from downed trees and power lines. More than 17 million residents were under high wind warnings yesterday alone.
In San Francisco, schools were closed because of the weather. Along the coast, residents were fortifying their properties with sandbags or evacuating altogether because of high winds and rough surf with waves over 15 feet high.
East Coast snow
A woman's umbrella is upset by the wind during the storm in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
On the East Coast, some residents were bracing for high winds and more than a foot of snow in some areas from Pennsylvania to Maine. Winter Storm Damon threatened to impact much of the area hit by Sandy just two years ago. According to The Weather Channel, parts of the Jersey Shore and Long Island saw high tides, but nothing like the damage from Sandy.
Western New York, already hit by one major storm before Thanksgiving, saw snow totals well over a foot in many areas. Parts of Vermont also had snow totals ranging from 11 inches in East Craftsbury to at least 19 inches in Killington, providing a great base for ski resorts in the area.
Heavy snow knocked out power to more than 30,000 residents and parts of I-81 were closed due to snow and multiple accidents. Top snow falls included 20 inches in Jamesville, N.Y.; 19.8 in Erieville, N.Y.; and 19 in Killington, Vt. Wind gusts ranged from a high of 85 mph in Mount Washington, N.H., to 48 mph around Boston/Logan airport.
The storm is expected to blow offshore and gradually weaken throughout the day.
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