FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm continued to drop heavy snow and record rain Friday as it moved through Northern California, closing roads and prompting evacuations in some areas, after killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest.
Forecasters warned the risk of flash flooding and rockslides would continue, and scores of flights were canceled at San Francisco’s airport.
In Washington state, more than 185,000 people — mostly in the Seattle area — remained without power as crews worked to clear streets of electrical lines, fallen branches and debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last into Saturday.
Moderate rain was streaming across southern Oregon and northern California on Friday morning, with showers over coastal Washington and heavier snow across eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Gale warnings were issued off Washington, Oregon and California and high wind warnings were in effect across parts of northern California and Oregon on Friday. Winter storm warnings were also in effect for parts of the California Cascades and Sierra Nevada.
Preliminary totals for the storm showed that 20 inches of snow had fallen in Soda Springs, California and Galane Blaine, Idaho, between Tuesday and Friday mornings, and 17.4 inches of rain had fallen in Venado, California, according to the center.
Meanwhile on the East Coast, where rare wildfires have raged, New York and New Jersey welcomed much-needed rain that could ease the fire danger for the rest of the year.
Heavy snow was falling Friday in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains, forcing a raft of school closures and delays. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lower amounts in valley cities like Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. More than 100,000 customers in 10 counties lost power, while the state transportation department imposed speed restrictions on some highways.
Despite the mess, the precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions in a state that’s seen an exceptionally dry fall.
“It won’t end the drought, it’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.
The National Weather Service extended a flood watch into Saturday for areas north of San Francisco as the region was inundated by this season’s strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land.
Flooding and road closures were reported in the North Bay, and the weather service warned residents throughout the area to expect disruptions during the morning and afternoon commutes on Friday. Rain rates have increased and shifted southward along the San Francisco Peninsula to the Santa Cruz Mountains with rain gauges reporting a few tenths to 1 to 2 inches so far, the weather service said early Friday.
In Humboldt County, the sheriff’s office issued evacuation orders and warnings for people living near the Eel River, which is forecast to break its banks, and urged residents to prepare for storm impacts throughout the week. Flooding closed Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in Mendocino County north of Point Arena near the Garcia River and there was no estimate for when it would reopen, according to the California Department of Transportation.
The system roared ashore Tuesday as a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes, killing at least two people in Washington.
Communities in Washington opened warming centers offering free internet and device charging. Some medical clinics closed because of power outages.
