'Strongest snowstorm in years' leaves Californians delighted and frozen

[Nutty Newsome]

The Hollywood sign was dusted in white as arctic air blew across the
state, triggering blizzard warnings for the first time since 1989

Gabrielle Canon in San Francisco
@GabrielleCanon
Sat 25 Feb 2023 01.00 EST
Swaths of the Golden State were doused in white this week as a historic
storm cast much of the US in a bitter chill – and forecasters say there’s
more frosty weather in store.

The snowstorm hovering over the southern part of California could end up
becoming one for the record books as typically balmy areas brace for a
barrage of more blizzard conditions and blustery winds. Across the state
this week, the snowline has already crept far downslope from its winter
territory atop high-elevation peaks, dusting foothills and valleys closer
to the coast, and even some beaches.

“It is definitely the strongest storm we have had in many years,” said
Eric Boldt, a warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather
Service in southern California. And it isn’t all bad news.

Along with adding to an already robust snowpack, which will be essential
to navigate the drier days to come, the storms have sparked wonder and
delight from Californians unaccustomed to winter weather. “Every time snow
levels get low people get pretty excited in Los Angeles,” Boldt said.
“Some people have never even seen snow up close.”

The system, which drew arctic air from the north and picked up moisture
over the Pacific, will also continue to unleash a unique cocktail of
possible impacts, from flurries to floods. The wild weather has already
left a mark.

Temperatures in San Francisco dipped beneath a record-low that’s held for
more than a century as storms dumped historic amounts of snow across the
San Francisco Bay area. By Friday afternoon, more than 101,000 California
homes and businesses had lost power as the next wave of brutal weather
threatened to bear down.

Transportation corridors stretching across the state were were closed or
clogged by icy and hazardous conditions, including Interstate 5 through a
high-elevation section known as the Grapevine north of Los Angeles, which
was shut down Friday morning due to the snow.

Even the famous Hollywood sign, housed atop hillsides over-looking Los
Angeles, was dusted in white. Blizzard warnings were issued for the first
time in San Diego county, and only the second time in Los Angeles county’s
history, the last time being in 1989. The NWS even issued a tornado
warning in the Los Angeles area, with a possible threat for “weak
waterspouts over the coastal waters”.

Strong frigid winds are expected to topple trees and pull-down power
lines, posing risks of more power outages, the agency said, while torrents
of rain could cause flash flooding across terrain already saturated from
strong storms at the start of the year. Flood watches and warnings were in
effect through Saturday afternoon for some coastal regions and valleys,
and the potential for rainfall causing flooding and debris flow in some
areas burned by wildfires in recent years.

“We haven’t seen a cold storm like this in southern California for a long
time,” said Dr Dan Mcevoy, a researcher with the Western Regional Climate
Center, noting that the unique combination of atmospheric ingredients –
cold, wind and moisture – have added to the phenomenon. “It is very rare
and hasn’t happened in decades – if at all.”

But despite its attributes that make this system unique, it also fits into
a wetter trend the west has been treated to this winter. “The atmosphere
tends to get locked into patterns that persist,” Mcevoy said, noting the
series of severe storms that pummeled California in January.

And, while more research is required to determine the role of the climate
crisis in setting the stage this storm, it does align with models that
show an increase in extreme weather.

“It is definitely an outlier – and we are seeing more of those due to
climate change,” said Greg Pierce, co-director and senior researcher at
UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation.

The dousing also came as welcome reprieve. California hasn’t fully emerged
from the grips of a prolonged and devastating drought, but the sudden
onslaught of a very wet winter has relieved some of that pressure. More
than a month ahead of the start of spring, when precipitation chances
start to wane, the state’s snowpack stood at 144% of its 1 April average
on Friday. Reservoir levels are better than they have been in years, and
the storms haven’t finished yet.

But, there’s still a long way to go.

“This storm is helping us stay ahead of pace – way ahead of pace than in
recent years – but I still think we really need to see more,” said Pierce.
“We were in a really extreme place and this [storm] just gets us back to
buying a little more time as we make other major investments and continue
to harden conservation.

“It’s great,” he added “but we can’t let up.”

<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/24/california-snow-los-
angeles-san-francisco-bay-area>