At least that's what we're hearing from all quarters.
President Streets' Steve Bass tells us:
There's been a buzz among weather people for the last few days. They're all saying it might be a stormy couple of weeks for California with a series of strong Pacific storms. According to interpretations of models from the National Weather Service, the very wet weather will start in the next few days.
The Northern California Weather Blog talks about low-land flooding, Southland Weather says "Rainfall Totals of 4-8" coast/valleys and 8-16" mountains or more," and Weather Underground issued a Special Weather Statement saying, "over 20 inches will be quite possible across favored south facing coastal slopes."
Current weather status is available at NOAA's National Weather Service Forecast site.
The following is a detailed analysis of the weather situation from "Weather West."
(BTW, if you haven't subscribed to Steve's TechBite Newsletter, you don't know what you're missing!)
Since our policy is not to cut & paste entire articles, we've included the link to the article Steve's referencing above, but the bullet is:
For the first time in at least several years, a powerful southern stream branch of the jet stream over the Pacific is expected to roar across CA for at least the next two weeks, potentially bringing a tremendous amount of precipitation and frequent strong wind events.
We've also received the following from the office of Supv. Mike Antonovich:
To prepare for forecasted winter storms that could produce up to 8 inches of rain next week in areas affected by recent fires, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich encourages residents in hillside communities and fire-impacted areas to take precautions now.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works’ 24-hour toll-free hotline, (800) 214-4020, provides homeowners with engineering advice and recommendations on how to prevent damage utilizing sandbags, k-rails, and deflection walls to protect individual properties. Sandbags are available at all Los Angeles County Fire Stations.
County Public Works officials will patrol roads to ensure that natural watercourses, roads, and bridges are capable of withstanding the rain runoff. During the storms, catch basins that have screens will be monitored and cleaned should they become clogged. The Department’s Emergency Operations Center will be open and staffed as necessary through the storm period and all Public Work’s operational staff is on call to respond to any incidents.
Supervisor Antonovich encourages residents to take the following precautions:
- Listen to local radio and TV reports for heavy rainfall areas.
- Be aware of intense and extensive rainfall.
- If you live near a stream or channel, be alert for sudden increases or decreases in water levels and change from clear to muddy waters, which may indicate debris flow upstream.
- If you live in an area that is susceptible to flooding, consider leaving if it is safe to do so.
- Be aware of your surroundings.
- Listen for unusual sounds, such as breaking trees. Watch for signs of debris.
- If you are driving, watch the road for collapsed pavement, mud, fallen rocks, and other indications of debris flow.
