New Storm Northern California to British Columbia

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

December 3,2012; 8:10PM,EST

 

The latest in a long line of storms will slam areas from northern California to British Columbia Monday night into Tuesday with rain, snow and wind.
The heaviest rain will fall over northern coastal California to southern coastal Oregon once again, where local rainfall from this storm alone will reach between 4 and 8 inches.
The combination of this rain and prior rainfall over the past week will lead to new rounds of flash and urban flooding, mudslides, erosion and stream flooding.

According to Meteorologist Andy Mussoline, "Farther north, the rain will be more of a nuisance in the major cities of Seattle and Portland."
The heaviest rain will also avoid San Francisco and Sacramento with this storm.

Rainfall has been more gradual (on the order of 3 to 4 inches) in Seattle and Portland, when compared to areas in northern California (over a foot of rain) since the last weekend of November.
According to Western Weather Expert Ken Clark, "Snow levels will be very high over the northern Sierra Nevada and Cascades, generally above the passes with this storm."

Farther north, the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia will be buried with up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) of fresh snow.
According to Canada Weather Expert Brett Anderson, "At Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Resort, B.C., nearly 5 feet of snow has already fallen since Monday, Nov. 25, 2012."
Rounds of rain and snow will continue in the Northwest into Wednesday. Snow levels will fall during the day Wednesday with accumulating snow likely at pass levels during the middle of the week.
Winds will be a concern throughout the coastal Northwest until the storm's cold front swings through later Tuesday.

Most gusts originating from the south will range between 40 to 60 mph along much of the coast from northern California to southern British Columbia, including the Cascades and northern Sierra Nevada. However, peak gusts can reach as high as 80 mph on the immediate coast, ridges and gaps in the mountains.

Meteorologist Anthony Sagliani sums of the storms thus far along in "Intense Winds, Feet of Rain, Snow Slam West."