“Bomb Cyclone” brings strong winds and heavy rains to California and the northwest of the United States

One of the strongest storms in decades hit the northwestern United States on Tuesday evening, knocking out the power grid and downing trees across the region, UNN reports citing AP.

Details

The Weather Prediction Center has issued a forecast for a high risk of precipitation beginning Tuesday and continuing through Friday as the strongest atmospheric river - the largest flow of moisture California and the Pacific Northwest have seen this season - hits the region. The storm system is considered a "bomb cyclone," which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.

Areas that could see particularly heavy rainfall are likely to stretch from southern Portland, Oregon, to northern San Francisco, said Richard Bunn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center.

"Beware of the risk of flash floods at lower elevations and winter storms at higher elevations. This will have serious consequences," he said.

According to the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon, hurricane-force winds gusting in excess of 121 kilometers per hour are being felt along the Oregon coast. And near Seattle, conditions are forming for a "mountain wave," which brings large gusts of wind at low altitude that could lead to widespread power outages and downed trees, said Larry O'Neill, director of the Oregon Climate Service and an associate professor at Oregon State University.

"It's going to be pretty strong in the last 10 or 20 years," he said. - "We've only seen a couple of storms that were really this strong.

According to poweroutage.us, as of Tuesday evening, more than 106,000 customers were without power in Washington state. More than 11,000 were without power in Oregon and nearly 12,000 in California.

Flood warnings and strong winds were in effect in northern California, with up to 20 centimeters of precipitation forecast for some parts of the San Francisco Bay, North Coast and Sacramento Valley.

A winter storm warning has been issued for the northern part of the Sierra Nevada at an altitude of over 1066 meters, where 28 centimeters of snow is possible within two days. According to forecasters, wind gusts could reach 120 km/h in mountainous areas.

"Numerous flash floods, dangerous travel, power outages, and tree damage can be expected as the storm reaches maximum intensity" on Wednesday, the Weather Prediction Center warned.

In southwestern Oregon, 10 to 18 centimeters of rainfall - up to 25 centimeters in some areas - is forecast for the coast by late Thursday night and early Friday morning, Bunn said. The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for parts of southwestern Oregon through Friday evening.

Washington could also see heavy rains, but probably not as much as Oregon and California. Some coastal areas could see up to 3.8 centimeters of rainfall from Monday evening to Tuesday, Bunn said.

The Weather Service has warned of strong winds from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning for coastal parts of Pacific County in southwest Washington. Wind gusts could cause trees and power lines to fall, the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency warned.

A snowstorm warning has been issued for most of the Cascade Mountains in Washington, including Mount Rainier National Park, starting Tuesday afternoon, according to the Seattle weather service. Travel through the passes may be difficult, if not impossible.

On Tuesday evening, fallen trees blocked a lane on an interstate highway in Washington state, and high winds shut down a ferry service in northwest Washington between Port Townsend and Coupeville.

Officials also urged motorists to consider postponing travel across the state until Wednesday due to strong winds and heavy snowfall expected in the mountains.

"It's only going to be a winter wonderland in the sense that you're going to be asking where the hell you are on any given stretch of land," the Washington State Department of Transportation said on social media.

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