The National Weather Service said Monday that it is advising residents in some areas of California to prepare for “two major episodes of heavy rain and heavy mountain snow” that are expected “to impact California in quick succession during the next couple of days.”
The wet weather forecast is complicated further the service said by an “energetic and moisture-laden parade of cyclones that are aiming directly for California.”
Heavy precipitation is expected in central California with rainfall totals Monday of 7 to 13 centimeters near the coast, the weather forecasters said.
On Tuesday, slightly less precipitation will fall, impacting locations farther south into southern California.
The heavy rainfalls, the meteorologists said, “will lead to additional instances of flooding,” including “rapid water rises, mudslides, and the potential for major river flooding.”
The Sierra Nevada, meanwhile, will likely receive “heavy snow exceeding 6 feet [2 meters] across the higher elevations before the snow tapers off Wednesday morning.”
The NWS warned that the heavy snow expected in the Sierra Nevada could make travel “very dangerous to impossible at times.”
The heavy snowfall could also “increase the threat of avalanches and strain infrastructure,” the NWS warned.
