A winter storm watch has been issued for eastern New York, parts of northern New Jersey and most of New England, where much as 12 inches of snow may fall by week's end, according to the National Weather Service.
The system will be the second to move through the area this week, said Lauren Nash, a weather service meteorologist in Upton, New York. The first will arrive tonight and may bring light snow to areas north of New York City, she said.
Storms
A powerful spring storm packing hail, heavy rain and strong winds caused extensive damage just south of New Orleans, Tuesday evening, authorities said.
Maj. John Marie with the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's department said the heaviest damage was reported between Harvey and Belle Chasse. The Belle Chasse Ferry recorded 100-mph winds around 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET), he said.
Maj. John Marie with the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's department said the heaviest damage was reported between Harvey and Belle Chasse. The Belle Chasse Ferry recorded 100-mph winds around 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET), he said.
© unknown
Easy for him to say. When Rivest arrived earlier this week at the cabin near Soda Springs, about 90 miles northeast of Sacramento, the snow was so deep it nearly touched the power lines crossing in front of the cabin. Snow was piled at least 10 feet high on top of the deck of the A-frame home.
"My dad wants me to clear the deck," the ponytailed 21-year-old said Monday, as he labored to clear the driveway with a snow blower. "How do I even begin to do that? Where would I put the snow? This is absurd."
Absurdly deep is how Sierra residents and travelers might describe this season's snowfall, which is setting records at some ski resorts and nearing records at official gauging stations.
The last round of storms that blew across much of the 400-mile-long range during the weekend added several feet to what has become a snowpack of historic proportions, and one that promises an end to California's lingering drought.
After state water officials release the results of their latest snow survey Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to officially declare the drought over, said Evan Westrup, a spokesman for the governor's office. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought in June 2008 and a state of emergency because of low water levels in February 2009.
© Maggie Creamer/News-Sentinel
Tom Gotelli, plant manager with O-G Packing, holds cherry blossoms in an orchard Friday, March 25, 2011. With the rain and wind during the past weeks, Gotelli is worried bees will not pollinate some of the blossoms and other plants could suffer from blossom rot.
Tom Gotelli, plant manager with O-G Packing, holds cherry blossoms in an orchard Friday, March 25, 2011. With the rain and wind during the past weeks, Gotelli is worried bees will not pollinate some of the blossoms and other plants could suffer from blossom rot.
From March 18 through 4 p.m. Friday, the Stockton area received 1.8 inches of rain, said John Feerick, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com, a private forecasting service. The average precipitation for that week is usually 0.55 inches.
According to News-Sentinel records, Lodi received even more rain - 3.30 inches during that time period.
Below is a summary of how this is affecting the Lodi area.
Alabama - It's a good day to clean the closets, watch basketball or shop for a new raincoat, because the wet stuff will fall all day.
It'll fall tonight, too, if that affects your plans.
Having a radio, TV or smart phone nearby is also a good idea, because the National Weather Service says high winds, hail and even tornadoes are possible this afternoon.
The dangerous weather isn't a sure thing, meteorologist Dan Dixon said Friday, but prolonged rain is certain. Look for 1 to 2 inches in most areas and more in some places before the rain ends overnight or early Sunday morning.
"We're not looking for widespread flooding," Dixon said, "but could see some nuisance flooding." Translation: If the road near your house floods when it pours, it may flood today. Be prepared.
It'll fall tonight, too, if that affects your plans.
Having a radio, TV or smart phone nearby is also a good idea, because the National Weather Service says high winds, hail and even tornadoes are possible this afternoon.
The dangerous weather isn't a sure thing, meteorologist Dan Dixon said Friday, but prolonged rain is certain. Look for 1 to 2 inches in most areas and more in some places before the rain ends overnight or early Sunday morning.
"We're not looking for widespread flooding," Dixon said, "but could see some nuisance flooding." Translation: If the road near your house floods when it pours, it may flood today. Be prepared.
© Yasser Iqbal Ahmed
A wall of dust seen rising in the distance before it hit Mangaf coastal area Friday evening.
A wall of dust seen rising in the distance before it hit Mangaf coastal area Friday evening.
The Operations Room of the Interior Ministry received more than 200 calls for assistance; the most urgent among them was from a boat stranded in mid-sea. Nearly 100 female students were onboard and were on their way to Failaka Island when the storm came threatening. Security forces and Coast Guard members sprung into action and managed to bring the boat safely to shore.
To add to all the panic, rumors about an enormous fire near the beach spread like wild fire and subsided only when it became evident that the black cloud was a dust blanket and not smoke from a fire.
The dust storm first entered Jahra and moved towards the Capital area and then to the rest of the areas. Meteorologist at the Weather Forecast Department of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Issa Ramadan said northwesterly winds blowing at a speed of more than 50 kms per hour caused the dust storm. He and astronomer Saleh Al-Ojairi confirmed that there was almost zero visibility in some areas of the country.
© KGO-TV San Francisco
The Bay Area is beginning to clean up from Thursday's storm as residents brace for more problems.
The Bay Area is beginning to clean up from Thursday's storm as residents brace for more problems.
Residents in the 45-unit Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park in Santa Cruz County were ordered to evacuate on Thursday when a failed drainage pipe tore a roughly 15-by-100 foot hole in the ground near homes and sent a 3-foot surge of water into Capitola Village, authorities said.
"The water was moving really rapidly and carrying debris, garbage cans, kids' toys, chairs," Pamela Bone, 52, a resident of the mobile home park said. "My neighbor and I were looking across from each other at the river running between us."
Bone said the area around her home was left caked in mud but the home itself had remained dry.
"I think we're the lucky ones," she said.
Four of the homes have been red-tagged, said Derek Johnson, a city spokesman, and crews were trying to restore electricity and other utilities to the area. The gas was not expected to be back on for at least another week.
Capitola is just south of Santa Cruz, where this month's tsunami caused millions of dollars of damage to the harbor.
Northern California is looking a lot like Tornado Alley these days.
Just north of Sacramento, two reported weak tornadoes struck this week in Colusa County, which did not have a single tornado report from 1950 to 2010, according to the Weather Channel. Colusa has now had three reported tornadoes this year and four in the past five months. That's some serious action for a state that averages about five tornadoes per year.
No witnesses saw the touchdown of yesterday's (March 23) reported EF-0 tornado - the weakest ranking with winds between 65 and 85 mph (105 and 137 kph) - but people did see a funnel cloud and six homes reported damage, the Sacramento Bee reported. Another funnel cloud was captured on YouTube on Monday (March 21).
Tornadoes Rip Through Western Pennsylvania
The National Weather Service says that as of Wednesday morning 4-7 inches of snow fell in Saginaw and Tuscola counties, while the Flint area got more than 4 inches of sleet and snow. A glaze of ice also was seen in some areas. In the northern Lower Peninsula, the Houghton Lake area got up to 6 inches.
Rain fell in the Detroit area, with temperatures at or above freezing. Forecasters warned that could change later in the day.
By Wednesday afternoon, forecasters say an area from Ludington to Mount Pleasant could get 5-10 inches of snow and sleet by the time the storm passes.
