Strong Winds,Heavy Rain,Mountain Snow Take Aim on Northwest and Northern California Into Monday

March 13,2016
A strong frontal system will continue sliding into the Northwest and northern California into early Monday with high winds along with more heavy rain and mountain snow.
The winds from this latest storm have caused power outages and tree damage. The National Weather Service has issued high wind warnings and wind advisories from western Washington, including Seattle, to parts of California. Coastal portions of Washington and Oregon could see wind gusts up to 70 mph. Peak gusts of 55 to 60 mph are possible for parts of interior western Washington, including the Puget Sound region.
As of Sunday afternoon, gusts of 50 to 60 mph have been observed in western Washington, with a gust of 76 mph measured in Taholah, Washington and a gust of 77 mph near Cape Disappointment, Washington. There has also been a report by the fire department of a fatality in Seattle due to a tree falling on a vehicle.
A wind gust of 73 mph was measured near Oceanside, Oregon late Sunday morning and over 2.5 inches of rain fell in Selma, Oregon Saturday into Sunday. Heavy rain was also reported near Quincy, California where 3.5 inches of rain fell.
(MORE: Latest Northwest Storm Impacts)

Wind Alerts

After this storm slides east Monday, the West Coast will finally get a break from the recent barrage of stormy weather that they've seen since the first weekend in March, though some lingering showers will still impact the Northwest into Tuesday.
(MORE: West Coast Impacts)

Current Radar and Winds

Below is a look at the forecast and impacts into Monday

Forecast

Timing: 

• Into Monday: A wetter and stronger storm is pushing inland into Monday, impacting a swath from Washington to California.

Impacts:

• Additional rainfall totals of 1 to 4 inches are expected in coastal ranges and foothills of northern California and southwest Oregon through early Monday.
• The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for parts of northern California, including Sacramento, the northern Bay Area and Redding, as well as parts of western Oregon.
• Additional heavy snowfall is expected from the central Sierra Nevada northward into Cascades. Final snowfall totals will be measured in feet in the highest elevations of the Sierra from this latest round of storm systems since late this past week.
• Mudslides and rockslides remain possible.
• Strong winds could down trees in some areas, particularly where soils are recently saturated. Power outages are also possible.
• Our forecast rain and snow map through Monday illustrates the expectation of several inches of rain in the lower elevations and feet of snow in the mountains. The heaviest amounts are focused from northern and central California into the Northwest.

(MAPS: 7-Day Forecast)

Rain and Snow Forecast Through Monday

Flood Alerts

Storm Reports Last Weekend-Monday

Rain, Flooding Reports:
Saturday night into early Sunday morning, roads were flooded around San Jose and Oakland. Mudslides also created traffic issues, including in Santa Cruz where a mudslide and basketball sized boulders blocked a south bound lane on highway 17.
In central California, a few higher elevation locations of Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Sonoma Counties picked up over 6 inches of rain in the 72 hours ending Monday morning. As much as 11.19 inches of rain fell near Loma Prieta in Santa Clara County. Lower elevations of the Bay Area picked up generally 1 to 3 inches of rain.
In far northwest California, 9.20 inches of rain was reported near Honeydew in Humboldt County as of early Monday morning.
Higher elevation locations in Southern California's Santa Barbara County had reported 4 to 5 inches of rain as of midday Monday. Parts of the Los Angeles metro area picked up more than an inch of rain.
Areas of heavy rain swept across central and southern California on Friday, including a half inch of rain in downtown Los Angeles and about a quarter of an inch in San Diego.
Wind Reports:
Winds gusted as high as 88 mph Saturday evening at Mount Diablo, with reports of scattered wind damage across Northern California that continued into Sunday. Trees were also downed in central California.
Thunderstorms brought strong winds to coastal portions of Southern California Monday morning which downed some trees, including in Los Angeles County.
Hurricane-force winds slammed the Pacific Northwest on Thursday, where gusts reached as high as 127 mph at Mission Ridge, 109 mph at Mount Baker and 101 mph at Crystal Mountain.
In California, non-thunderstorm wind gusts to 73 mph near Big Bear City and 68 mph at Volcan Mountain were reported Friday afternoon. A tree was uprooted near Anaheim on Friday, shattering the back window of an SUV.
Snow Reports:
Up to 59 inches (nearly 5 feet) of snow was reported at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort March 5-7, 2016. Squaw Valley saw 48 inches of snow and Alpine Meadows Ski Resort picked up 41 inches of snow during the same three-day period.

MORE: Western Storms Slam California - January 2016