Another round of storms is expected to hit the West Coast this week, causing flooding problems in Northern California but bringing badly needed rain to the Los Angeles area.
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00:00We are getting some healthy rain and mountain snow, but it does come with some hazards and
00:04some disruptions and some life safety concerns with flooding. So, to help us break down some
00:08of the details, we're now joined by AccuWeather meteorologist and California expert Ken Clark.
00:13Ken, thanks for being with us once again. I'm glad we're not talking about fires,
00:16at least today. We have a lot to discuss, though, in the Golden State.
00:20Yes, we do, and it's mostly beneficial. Now, there are the negatives, as you talked about it,
00:26and Northern California is going to see enough rain now from the rest of this week that we're
00:32going to have some flooding concerns, especially small streams and creeks, low-lying areas, etc.
00:37The weekend rains, which were substantial for the North Bay on northward, did really kind of prime
00:42the pump for this potential for small stream flooding, etc., because now the ground is
00:47saturated. And as we take a look at some of our recent storm reports, we're seeing a new report
00:51where the 101 Highway way up in Northern California closed in Humboldt County because,
00:56at least an off-ramp is closed because of some ongoing flooding. Highway Patrol busy with the
01:00barricades, as we would expect. We're also seeing some pretty decent snow in some areas as well.
01:05There's a modest, again, 2- and then 9-inch report there at the summit and near the base of Donner
01:11Peak. But we're going to be dealing with more in the way of snow as this storm behaves, moving a
01:17little farther south here over the next day or two. So how are we doing with the reservoirs,
01:22Ken? That's been kind of what we have our eye on, more so than the short-term drought status.
01:26Really, statewide, there's no problem with the reservoirs. They're at or above 100% of
01:31historical average for this time of year. We really don't have a problem. And the main reason
01:35for that is two exceptionally wet winters back-to-back. We thought that, even as early
01:41as this time last year, we wouldn't have a problem this year with the reservoirs. That's coming true.
01:47We don't have a problem with that. Snowpack, we need the snowpack now as we look ahead to this
01:52coming summer. And the snowpack is starting to come up. We've gained about 10% of historical
01:56average in the northern Sierra, not too much central and south yet, but more snow is coming.
02:01In fact, some substantial amounts of snow are coming all across the Sierra as we go through
02:06this week. And we could be looking at 3 to 5 feet of snow, potential for maybe 7 feet in some
02:11localities. So everywhere in the Sierra, we're going to start making inroads in those negative
02:17numbers across the central and southern portion of those mountains. That's certainly good news.
02:21Every foot of snow in the Sierra is another deposit in the hydrological bank there. We like
02:25to see that. Now, we're going to watch this atmospheric river, this ribbon of moisture,
02:30get a little disrupted, and it's going to shift south. In fact, Ken, as you begin to discuss this,
02:34I'm going to step off and just kind of replay this so we can see how this behaves. What do
02:40you expect we can predict, I guess, for, say, southern California here as this gets more
02:45disrupted but shifts south? The shifting south, we're going to still be on the southern edge of
02:51this moisture plume for both the storm that's coming up in tonight and tomorrow, northern
02:56California, and what is left over from that coming down into southern California probably later
03:02Tuesday night into part of Wednesday. Very, very reduced in the amount of rainfall there. The
03:08second storm later in the week. Also, again, tailing off in precipitation totals as it goes
03:13southward in the state. L.A., I don't think we're going to, I think we're going to be all right in
03:18most of the L.A. area with this. I think maybe a half inch to an inch, maybe a little bit more
03:23in some of those upslope areas, but I don't think we're going to see any major problems in the burn
03:28areas. Can there be some minor problems? Of course there can. Even light amounts of rain with all
03:33that ash and all that barren land can have problems fairly quickly, but I don't think we're
03:40going to see widespread major problems because the heaviest rain will stay north. All right,
03:45always appreciate your insight there. He is the man when it comes to California weather,
03:49AccuWeather meteorologist and California expert Ken Clark. Thanks again, Ken.
03:53You're welcome, Jeff. All right, good stuff.