Weather conditions could become complicated during Thanksgiving week in the US, when thousands of people are expected to travel across the country. More rain and snowfall are forecast, according to meteorologists.
A new round of winter weather could complicate travel during Thanksgiving week, meteorologists in the United States warned, as California and Washington state continue to recover from damage caused by passing storms and power outages.
In California, where two people were found dead in floodwaters Saturday, authorities were bracing for more rainfall while still dealing with flooding and small landslides caused by an earlier storm.
The National Weather Service office in Sacramento, California, issued a winter storm warning for the Sierra Nevada from Saturday through Tuesday, with forecasts of heavy snow in higher elevations and wind gusts that could reach 88 kilometers per hour (88 kilometers per hour (88 kilometers per hour) 55 miles per hour). Snow accumulation of approximately 1.2 meters (4 feet) is expected, with the heaviest amount falling on Monday and Tuesday.
Rain and snow are expected Monday in the north-central and Great Lakes regions, with the East Coast hardest hit during the Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday, according to forecasters.
A low pressure system is forecast to bring rain to the southeast of the country early Thursday before heading northeast. Areas from Boston to New York could see rain and windy conditions, with a chance of snow for parts of northern New Hampshire, northern Maine and the Adirondacks. If the system moves further inland, there could be less snow and more rain in the mountains, forecasters said.
“The system doesn't appear to be very strong at this time,” Hayden Frank, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Massachusetts, said Sunday. “Basically, this will bring rain to the Interstate 95 corridor, so travelers should prepare for wet weather. Unless the system gets much colder, it looks like it will be rain.”
Frank said he doesn't see any major storm systems in the outlook for any part of the country this weekend, so travelers heading home on Sunday can expect good driving conditions. However, temperatures will cool in the east and warm in the west.
More rain on the west coast after the passage of a “bomb cyclone”
Two people died in the northwest of the country after a rapidly intensifying storm, known as a “bomb cyclone,” arrived Tuesday. The system brought strong winds that downed trees and power lines, causing damage to homes and cars.
Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power in Washington state before powerful gusts and record rainfall arrived in Northern California. Fewer than 25,000 people in the greater Seattle area remained without power Sunday night.
Two bodies were found Saturday in wine country in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco, authorities said. A person walking on a trail near the city of Santa Rosa found the body of a man in a swollen creek, according to county police.
A few hours later, rescuers recovered a body inside a vehicle swept away by floodwaters in the nearby town of Guerneville, said Deputy Police Chief Rob Dillion. Investigators are still trying to determine if the deaths were related to the storm.
Santa Rosa recorded its wettest three-day period, with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of precipitation by Friday night, according to the National Weather Service office in the San Francisco Bay area. The vineyards in the town of Windsor were flooded.
Forecasters said the risk of flooding and landslides remained as the region receives more rain from Sunday. However, the latest storm will not be as intense as last week's atmospheric river, a long column of moisture that forms over an ocean and moves over land.
“However, there are still threats, minor risks, and not as significant in terms of magnitude, that will continue to exist on the West Coast for the next two to three days,” said Rich Otto of the weather service.
As rain moves east throughout the week, Otto noted, there is the potential for heavy snowfall in some of the higher parts of the Sierra Nevada, as well as parts of Utah and Colorado.
Northeast receives much-needed precipitation
By Thanksgiving, parts of the north-central and east coast could see heavy rain and possible snowfall in northeastern states.
Last week, another storm brought rain to New York and New Jersey, where wildfires have occurred in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. The rainfall is expected to help improve conditions after an exceptionally dry autumn.
“It's not going to be the end of the drought, but it will definitely help,” said Bryan Greenblatt of the National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York.
Heavy snowfall was reported in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains.
Up to 17 inches (43 centimeters) was reported at higher elevations, with minor accumulations in valley cities including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Fewer than 35,000 customers in 10 counties remained without power, compared to 80,000 a day ago.
In the Catskills region of New York, nearly 10,000 people were still without power Sunday morning, two days after a storm brought heavy snow to parts of the region.
Precipitation in West Virginia helped mitigate the state's worst drought in at least two decades and gave a boost to the state's ski resorts, which are preparing to open their slopes in the coming weeks.