Fierce Storm Dumps 160mm of Rain over SoCal

Powerful storm wreaks havoc in Southern California

Thousands of people were without electricity Monday night in SoCal mountain areas, as a powerful storm downed power lines, and up to 3 feet of snow fell in the region.

More hazardous weather is forecast, with winter storm warnings, hazardous weather outlooks and flood warnings for much of the region.

Top News of the Day: Smorgasbord of Storms on Tap for Much of United States Today [summarized below]

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US Weather Forecast Map

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[Mirrored from NWS site with some editing by Fire-Earth]

The United States would experience  various weather threats today including severe thunderstorms, blizzards, flash floods, freezing rain, growing river flooding and extreme fire danger.

• Severe weather, including large hail, damaging winds and some tornadoes, is expected today in the central Plains and Midwest and Wednesday from the Mississippi Valley to the coastal Carolinas. …  10-state area at Slight Risk of severe weather development today … parts of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. See http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html.

• Wednesday, the risk area shifts eastward to include parts of 13 states: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. See http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day2otlk.html.

• A major winter storm was unfolding this morning across the northern tier of the United States from Montana across the northern Plains into the Great Lakes. Showers and thunderstorms started this morning in southern Minnesota into Ohio. The system was quickly pulling in colder air and changing to freezing rain and snow. The heaviest snows are expected by Wednesday evening from North Dakota into Wisconsin and Michigan. Rain and thunderstorms and severe storms will occur just south of the frozen precipitation.

Snowfall forecasts from the northern storm varied significantly from Montana to Lower Michigan, with more sleet in the east lowering snow accumulation totals. Snow forecasts into Wednesday evening included:

• Great Falls, MT – 20 inches on highest peaks, 12-15 inches above 6,000 feet, 5 inches below 6,000 feet
• Bismarck, ND – 12-16 inches from Minot to Harvey, 6-12 inches from Bismarck to Jamestown
• Grand Forks, ND – 12-19 inches of snow following rain and freezing rain
• Duluth, MN – widespread 10-14 inches in the Minnesota Arrowhead and northern Wisconsin
• Minneapolis, MN – widespread 6-11 inches in south-central Minnesota
• Marquette, MI – 6 inches across the Upper Peninsula with locally higher amounts
• Gaylord, MI – 6-10 inches of snow, mostly freezing rain south of Michigan Highway 32
• Grand Rapids, MI – up to ½-inch of ice build up from freezing rain in southwest Lower Michigan
• Detroit, MI – 5 inches snow after freezing rain from Saginaw to Sandusky, otherwise 5-10 inches snow
• Freezing rain in parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Red Flag Warnings for extreme wildfire danger from western Nebraska to the southern Texas border. All outside burning is prohibited in the southern Nebraska Panhandle and the southwest part of the state; the eastern half of Colorado and New Mexico; western, central and southern Kansas; the western two-thirds of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle and western parts of the state.

• The Indian Gulch Fire started Monday in Jefferson County, Colo., and has consumed about 1,000 acres with no containment. The fire is threatening approximately 265 residences near the city of Golden. Mandatory evacuations were issued for more than 100 primary residences and voluntary evacuations were requested for about 165 residences.

• River flooding in the central Plains and Midwest continues to slowly worsen as the spring thaw progresses in the North. Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service river gauge checks early this morning showed flooding at some level at 101 sites across the country. Of the 12 cites at major flood levels, 14 at moderate flooding and 75 at minor flooding, all but a handful were in the Midwest and Upper Mississippi Valley. Another 155 gauge sites were at near flood level.

• Follow flood conditions at http://water.weather.gov/ahps/index.php?stage=7. Precipitation forecasts (see http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/qpf2.shtml.) showed 1-3 inches of rain in the forecast through tonight into Wednesday.