Another round of atmospheric river of moisture flows out to California helping ease drought, but cause several problems in the wake of the system.
9th Major Storm Slams West This Year, Snow Blankets Midwest
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Rain and snow were big weather stories across much of the country this week. Another round of atmospheric river of moisture flows out to California helping ease drought, but cause several problems in the wake of the system.
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The ninth major storm from the atmospheric river of moisture flowing from the Pacific Ocean churned through the West Coast this week.
The rain on rain has led to many local calamities - this mudslide wiped out a recently remodeled house in Berkeley, California. At least eight additional homes in this area were damaged or destroyed by the hillside collapse. Sidehills scarred by wildfires are more susceptible to mudslides and recent fires consuming millions of acres of land has heightened the risk.
Cleanup of debris was nearly complete following the closure of key roadways earlier in the week.
Almost the entire Golden State was dealing with high water. From Stockton in the Central Valley to San Diego, flooded roads and neighborhoods were commonplace.
The start of 2023 has been historic for rain in the Bay Area as rainfall totals were the most in 161 years - the time Abraham Lincoln was president.
President Joe Biden visited storm damage in Capitola Pier, California Thursday. More than 500 FEMA and other federal personnel have been deployed to the state in emergency response to the situation.
You can see rainfall for the week nationally and California stands out with heavy bands in several portions of the state.
This led to another seven day period of relief to the drought situation in the West. This week marks the first time since April 13th of 2021 that at least a sliver of California is out of any drought classification on the Drought Monitor and the second week that all of the state is out of the most intense category of D-4.
The weather also helped improve conditions nationally. After a peak in October, there’s been a nearly 25 percent improvement in parched conditions across the country. Currently 64.85 percent of the U.S. is in some form of drought.
Moisture in the Midwest and Great Plains came in the form of snow.
A low pressure system dropped several inches on Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota as the storm swept across the region.
Traffic was slowed, but the snow differed from earlier system around the Christmas holiday that were followed by a deep chill. The snow here in Iowa was heavy, weighing down trees and powerlines.
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