MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES—The National Weather Service Hanford Office is predicting a powerful atmospheric river driven storm will bring strong and damaging winds, excessive rainfall, and up to 6 feet of new snow to our communities over the next few days.
A Wind Advisory for the San Joaquin Valley, Sierra Foothills, and the Coastal Range will begin tonight (Saturday, February 3) at 10pm and last through 10pm Sunday. Wind gusts near 45 mph are anticipated. Please take precautions when driving, making sure to slow down and steer with both hands. Also, the saturated ground will make trees more susceptible to toppling.
A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for the Sierra Nevada above 5,000 feet and for the Kern County Mountains above 6,000 feet from 10pm tonight (Saturday, February 3) through 4am Tuesday (February 6) morning. Expect travel to be extremely difficult or nearly impossible and delay travel plans. Due to the warm subtropical moisture source, snow levels will begin around
5000 but quickly rise to around 6000 feet by Sunday morning. Snow levels will continue to rise to 6500 to 7000 feet on Sunday afternoon. They will lower back to 5000 to 6000 feet by Monday morning.
A Flood Watch is in affect from 10pm tonight (Saturday, February 3) until 4am Tuesday morning. This includes the Sierra Nevada, Sierra Foothills, and the Kern County Desert. Moderate to heavy rainfall could lead to minor flooding of roads and creeks. Do not attempt to cross flooded roadways. Turn around, don’t drown!
The Madera County Sheriff has issued an evacuation warning for areas of Coarsegold due to Last years winter storms leaving the area at high risk for further mud slides. More information can be found here.
For information on power outages and safety tip PG&E’s outage center here.
As always, Sierra News Online will be here monitoring and reporting on road hazards and closures, power outages, school closures and more.
