A big storm Heavy snow and record rainfall moved through Northern California on Thursday, flooding some areas after killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest.
Forecasters warned that the risk of flooding and landslides would remain, and many flights were canceled at San Francisco airport.
In Washington, more than 204,000 people — most of them in the Seattle area — were without power as crews worked to clear streets of power lines, downed branches and debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last through Saturday.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, where wildfires have been rare, New York and New Jersey received some much-needed rain that could ease fire danger for the rest of the year.
The National Weather Service extended a flash flood watch for areas north of San Francisco on Saturday as the region was inundated by one of the strongest storms this season. atmospheric river — A long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows across the sky over land.
The system made landfall on Tuesday” bomb cyclone”, which occurs when a cyclone rapidly intensifies. It he unleashed strong winds it toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes, killing at least two people in Washington.
Washington communities opened warming centers offering free internet and device charging. Some medical clinics were closed due to power outages.
“I’ve been here since the mid-80s. I haven’t seen anything like this,” said Issaquah city official Trish Bloor as she surveyed the damaged homes.
Up to 16 inches (about 41 centimeters) of rain was forecast for southwestern Oregon and northern California counties through Friday.
Santa Rosa received 6.5 inches (16.5 centimeters) of rain in the past 24 hours, its wettest day since 1998.
The airport in Sonoma County, in the wine country north of San Francisco, got more than 11 inches (28 centimeters) in the past 48 hours and the town of Venado got about 12.7 inches (32.3 centimeters) in the same period.
Meghan Nelson, her fiance and their corgi were forced to flee to a hotel Thursday after their basement and driveway flooded in Fulton, California. He said that they took things upstairs and put the furniture on the bricks, but they don’t know if they will be able to come back tomorrow if it rains more.
“Fortunately we are safe right now. So that’s good,” he said.
In nearby Forestville, one person was injured when a tree fell on a house. There were small landslides across the North Bay, including one that caused a car accident on State Route 281 on Wednesday.
Daniela Alvarado said calls to her and her father’s Sonoma County-based tree business have nearly tripled in recent days for people to cut down or remove trees.
“We feel sad, scared, but also ready for action,” said Alvarado.
The rain slowed somewhat, but “persistent heavy rain will re-enter the picture by Friday morning,” the weather service said. “We’re not done!”
Flooding, rockfalls and debris flows were possible, especially where recent fires had loosened hillsides, officials warned. Sacramento weather service hydrologist Scott Rowe said so far the land has been able to absorb rain in areas burned by the Park Fire this summer.
“It’s not necessarily how much it rains; this is how hard it rains,” Rowe said.
Santa Rosa Division Fire Chief Paul Lowenthal said 100 vehicles were stuck for hours in the parking lot of a hotel and medical center after thigh-high water from an overflowing creek washed over it.
A winter storm watch was in place for the northern Sierra Nevada at 3,500 feet (above 1,070 meters) and 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow is possible over two days. Wind gusts could exceed 75 mph (121 km/h) in mountainous areas, forecasters said.
Sugar Bowl Resort, in northern Lake Tahoe near Donner Summit, received about a foot (30 centimeters) of snow overnight, marketing manager Maggie Eshbaugh said Thursday. He said the resort will welcome skiers and surfers on Friday, the earliest opening date in 20 years, “and then we’ll get another foot or so on Saturday, so that’s great.”
Another popular resort, Palisades Tahoe, said it will also open Friday, five days ahead of schedule.
The storm had already dumped more than a foot of snow across Oregon’s Cascades by Wednesday night, according to the weather service.
More than a dozen schools in the Seattle area closed Wednesday, with some opting to extend their closures into Thursday.
Covington Medical Center in southeast Seattle delayed elective surgeries and diverted ambulances Tuesday night after losing power and relying on generators into Wednesday, according to MultiCare Health System spokesman Scott Thompson. MultiCare clinics in the area were closed on Wednesday and Thursday after the power outage.
Ben Gibbard, lead singer of the indie rock bands Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service, went from his Seattle suburb to the Tiger Mountain Forest Thursday morning for his usual weekday run, but trees were getting in the way.
“We weren’t hit that hard in the city,” he said. “I didn’t think that would be the situation here. Of course, you feel the most about the people whose houses were partially destroyed.’
Washington Governor Jay Inslee thanked the service crews for working around the clock. It could take weeks to assess the extent of the damage and put a dollar figure, he said in a statement, after which “we will know whether we will be able to seek federal assistance.”
In California, more than 8,000 power outages were reported.
Authorities restricted vehicular traffic on a section of Interstate 5 North between Redding and Yreka due to the snow, according to the California Department of Transportation. Officials also closed a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) stretch of the scenic Boulevard of the Giants, named for the giant redwoods along the coast, due to flooding.
About 550 flights were delayed and dozens were canceled Thursday at San Francisco International Airport, according to tracking service FlightAware.
The Northeast, on the other hand, received a lot of precipitation, giving some respite to a region hit by fires and dwindling water supplies. More than 2 inches (5 centimeters) were expected north of New York City by Saturday morning, mixed with snow at higher elevations.
New York City meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki of the weather service, which issued its first drought warning in 22 years this week, said “any precipitation will be significant” but the storm will not be enough to end the drought.
