While an atmospheric river continued to pour heavy rain on California, forecasters warned of additional strong winds coming to the stricken Pacific Northwest.
According to the tracking website poweroutage.us, more than 200,000 homes and businesses in Washington state, which was struck by gusts of up to 70 mph this week as part of a “bomb cyclone” off the coast, were still without electricity Thursday night.
The storm started Tuesday and officials reported that two individuals were killed by fallen trees in the state.
Additionally, a low pressure system offshore is expected to bring more strong winds to the Pacific Northwest starting Friday, with forecasts ranging from 45 to 65 mph. “Power outages are possible and unsecured items may get blown over,” the agency cautioned.
An “atmospheric river” in California poured more rain on the state’s northern region. According to the weather service, flooding will continue to be a hazard through Friday, with the highest risk of potentially fatal floods occurring on Thursday.
By Thursday evening, Santa Rosa, a city of about 170,000 people in Sonoma County, California, north of San Francisco, had received almost 10 inches of rain in just 48 hours, according to the city. The police agency advised everyone to avoid needless travel since roads and parking lots were inundated.
The storm was delivering snow to the Sierra Nevada. A truck fell off the roadway Thursday, according to the California roadway Patrol in Truckee, and earlier this week, portions of crucial Interstate 5 close to the Oregon border were blocked. Since then, they have reopened.
According to the Eureka, California, weather service, landslides and rockslides closed some or all of the lanes on roads in Humboldt and Lake counties.
Although only about 2.5 million people were under warnings, the weather service’s website indicated that almost 14 million people, including sections of California, were under winter storm warnings or winter weather advisories Thursday night.
According to the meteorological agency, “a potent upper-level low swinging over the region” is bringing snow to Pennsylvania and New York state.
While there were no warnings in effect for New York City, forecasters in the region warned that certain parts of the lower Hudson Valley and northern New Jersey may receive up to 4 inches of precipitation or a combination of rain and snow.
With the largest quantities predicted for ridgetops, the meteorological service issued a winter weather warning until 7 a.m. Saturday for the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, region, which may see up to a foot of snow accumulation.
In the lowlands, Binghamton and Ithaca, in upstate New York, might receive 1 to 4 inches of snow, and at altitudes over 1,500 feet, up to a foot. Up until 4 p.m. on Friday, the region was under a winter weather warning.
