California braces for another storm; expect showers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California was preparing Thursday for the arrival of another atmospheric river that forecasters said would bring showers, high winds, thunderstorms and the threat of flooding to a state that does not still not recovering from previous storms.

The threat of flooding will come from a combination of rain and the melting of some of the huge snowpack accumulated in the California mountains from the passage of nine atmospheric rivers in early winter and subsequent storms fueled by a blast of arctic air.

The new atmospheric river is of the type known as the “Pineapple Express” because it is a deep faucet of warm subtropical moisture that stretches from the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. Its greatest impact is expected to be in northern and central California.

The accumulation of snow at high altitudes is such that it should absorb the rain, according to meteorologists. But elevations below 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) will experience melting and runoff. The National Weather Service rated the threat of flooding as “moderate.”

For higher elevations, the storm is expected to drop a large amount of snow, up to 2.4 meters (8 feet) in some places.

Snowpack in California’s Sierra Nevada, which provides about a third of the state’s water supply, is more than 180% above average for April 1, when it peaked historical.

So much snow has fallen in the Sierra and other mountain ranges that residents are still struggling to stay afloat days after previous storms.

Roofs collapsed, cars were buried and roads were blocked. Governor Gavin Newsom declared an emergency in 13 of California’s 58 counties beginning March 1.

In the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, a storm in late February reached blizzard status. Mountain towns like Lake Arrowhead were swallowed up.

“We’ve been through a lot of snowstorms, but none of this magnitude for sure,” 79-year-old resident Alan Zagorsky said Wednesday as a crew shoveled his driveway. “Right now they’re trying to find a place where they can put this.”