Northern California is bracing for more rain storms as an atmospheric river slams the region over the coming days while the Golden State attempts to bounce back from previous storms.
The National Weather Service is warning of an increased threat of "heavy rain, flooding, and heavy high-elevation snow" for much of northern and central California beginning on Thursday.
PARTS OF CALIFORNIA NO LONGER IN DROUGHT AFTER MASSIVE STORMS
"A persistent storm system lingering off the northwest Pacific coast and upper-level energy rotating around the trough in place will help to encourage nearly continuous lower elevation valley/coastal rain and higher elevation mountain snow chances for the Pacific Northwest and northern California before an even more impactful Atmospheric River approaches Thursday," the NWS's forecast read. "Forecast precipitation markedly increases on Thursday with the arrival of the Atmospheric River, raising snow levels and bringing the threat for heavy rainfall and flooding to portions of central coastal California and the central interior valleys."
The NWS forecast office is also predicting massive snowfall amounts in the Sierra Nevada, which could be dangerous for travelers on Thursday and Friday.
WPC has initiated Key Messages for a winter storm set to deliver heavy rain & mountain snow to California late week. Expected impacts include (but are not limited to) treacherous travel in higher terrain & flooding from a combination of heavy rain & snowmelt. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/BEv7t1OyDV
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) March 7, 2023
The atmospheric river is the latest storm in an extremely wet winter for the Golden State, which has seen so much rain and snow that it lifted a significant portion of the state out of a drought. The Sierra Nevada and its foothills are now free from drought for the first time since January 2020, the U.S. Drought Monitor announced last week.
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Residents of the Golden State faced dangerous conditions in the aftermath of the historic amount of snow, and several rural communities in Southern California were trapped due to heavy amounts of precipitation, closing roads and stores for days.
The aftermath of the excess precipitation led Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) to declare a state of emergency in multiple counties, including Amador, Mariposa, Mono, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Nevada, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sierra, San Bernardino, Tulare, and Sonoma.