Another Atmospheric River Event for the West Coast USA on Jan 4th and 5th

the

Obtained on January 3rd at 10:45 AM EST from the National Weather Service Sacramento

Another atmospheric river event is forecast to impact California tomorrow (January 4th) and Thursday (January 5th). I again am focusing on the Sacramento area following up on my original post of December 30th and my follow-up post on January 2nd.

Here is an excerpt from the Forecast Discussion from the Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Sacramento on January 3rd at 3:25 AM PST for the current period (January 3rd through January 6th). Because the Weather Service updates the links to the Forecast Discussion, while I will cite where I obtained the Forecast Discussion, the link is likely to be outdated by the time you look at the link. This is because of the way that the National Weather Service updates each WFO Forecast Discussion.

A more potent weather system is forecast to impact NorCal  early morning Wednesday and continues through Thursday night which will bring very strong winds, heavy rain and mountain snow. This  storm taps into a moderate to strong Atmospheric River (AR). Therefore, another round of moderate to heavy precipitation is expected with more flooding concerns. Precipitation forecasts for the midweek storm continue to be around 2 to 3 inches possible in the Central Valley with 3 to 6 inches or more of liquid precip in the foothills and mountains. Based on latest guidance, a band of precipitation will move up from the southwest early morning Wednesday, with widespread rainfall expected for the morning commute. The heaviest rainfall is expected to be Wednesday afternoon and overnight. With already saturated soils, and rivers, creeks and streams already running high from the end of the year's heavy precipitation, additional heavy rain will likely lead to additional flooding concerns. Minor to moderate flooding is possible on area rivers and streams, as well as urban flooding.As such, a Flood Watch was issued, and will be in effect early Wednesday through Friday morning. Even though rainfall will be winding down Friday morning, flooding impacts can remain several hours (and even days) after the heaviest rainfall occurred. Reminder, if you encounter flooded roadways, Turn Around, Don't Drown! Be sure to be extra cautious when driving at night, when it may be difficult to see flooded roadways. (obtained on January 3rd, 10:45 AM EST from the National Weather Service Sacramento, Forecast Discussion for January 3, 2022 at 3:25 AM PST)