Storm Diego blasts California, will roar across southern US with snow, ice, rain, floods

Posted: December 7, 2018 by oldbrew in Natural Variation, News, Uncertainty, weather
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Smoke from a California wildfire [image credit: BBC]


From huge wildfires to cold stormy weather in a matter of a few weeks in California.

A powerful storm will crawl across the southern tier of the U.S. over the next several days, delivering snow, ice, rain, floods and even a few tornadoes, says USA Today.

A powerful storm that slammed southern California Thursday will crawl across the southern tier of the United States over the next several days, delivering a nasty mix of snow, ice, heavy rain, floods and even a few tornadoes.

Ahead of the storm, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency for all 77 counties in her state.

As of midday Thursday, about 20 million people were under some level of weather alert. Many tens of millions more should be added to this total over the next few days.

Rain and snow pelted southern California throughout the day Friday, leading to floods, mudslides and nightmarish traffic. The rain also caused a plane to skid off a wet runway at Hollywood Burbank Airport.

Snow was confined to the higher elevations, forcing the closure of I-5, a major north-south route.

On Friday, the storm is forecast to ramp up in intensity as it moves across the southern U.S.: “Accumulating snow and ice appears likely from eastern New Mexico to western Oklahoma on Friday with snow totals of 4 to 8 inches, with locally higher amounts possible especially across the Texas Panhandle,” weather service forecaster Allison Santorelli said.

“A swath of potentially significant ice is also forecast from roughly Lubbock, Texas, to near Oklahoma City, with accumulations in excess of 0.10 to 0.25 inches possible,” she added.

The Weather Channel warned that the ice accumulations could cause extensive power outages and tree damage.

Continued here.

Comments
  1. JB says:

    And I was considering moving to the panhandle to get away from the nasty winters….

  2. Curious George says:

    “Rain and snow pelted southern California throughout the day Friday”. On Friday morning, this seems rather visionary.

  3. oldbrew says:

    George – indeed it does.

    The report was ‘Published 7:40 AM EST Dec 7, 2018’

  4. ivan says:

    Ah, the joy of global warming – it is so warm the heavy snow is turning to instant rain, /sarc

    That being said I expect the unreliable renewables will stop producing power and California will again rely on power from other states to keep the lights on and houses warm.

  5. oldbrew says:

    Smoke from wildfires creating gloom and now snow instead of sun, but…

    California Mandates Solar Panels for Most New Homes by 2020

    Starting Jan. 1, 2020, California will require solar panels on most new homes as provided for by the state’s new building code.
    . . .
    The solar panels requirement is expected to add on average about $9,500 to the cost of new houses.

    December 6, 2018

    https://invests.com/2018/12/06/california-mandates-solar-panels-for-most-new-homes-by-2020-3/
    – – –
    Pay up front to provide your own electricity whether you like it or not.