“Mt. Rose Highway remains closed following heavy snow. Chain controls on other mountain highways,” the Nevada Department of Transportation tweeted Sunday. Photo: Nevada DOT Reno/Twitter
A major winter coast-to-coast storm was unleashing heavy snow, rains and powerful winds across the Intermountain West Sunday ahead of its forecast slow track across the country.
The big picture: The heaviest snow Sunday was in the Sierra Nevada and Northern California, where forecasters said snowfall rates of 3 inches per hour were expected to cause “nearly impossible travel” conditions. The storm is forecast to hit the Plains, South and Northeast even harder later this week.
Thought bubble, via Axios’ Andrew Freedman: By the time this storm system moves off the east coast at the end of this week, it will have dumped a foot or more of snow across at least a half dozen states, spawned tornadoes in the South, and acted as a kickoff event to rearranging the jet stream to ensure a colder, snowier finish to December. This will be especially true for the Midwest and East.
State of play: Winter storm warnings were in effect over 250 miles of the Sierra, from north of Reno down to Yosemite National Park, until late Sunday or early Monday as multiple roads in the region closed due to the snowfall, per AP.
- The NWS said heavy coastal rainfall “intensified by the strong surge of moisture from the Pacific associated with an atmospheric river” was shifting from the central California coast to to the state’s south overnight.
- Parts of Southern California were at risk of potential flooding from heavy rains, with portions of Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties expected to see over 7 inches of rainfall Sunday.
Meanwhile, parts of the South faced the threat of episodes of moderate to heavy rainfall, showers and thunderstorms.
- “Wintry precipitation” was expected for the Interior Northeast overnight, “with some snow accumulations expected,” per the NWS.
- The major storm system that’s been bringing heavy mountain snow and coastal rain to the U.S. West was expected to start shifting into the Plains Monday, according to a National Weather Service update.
Go deeper: Powerful “Greenland Block” may yield extreme weather through December
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.
