Atmospheric river event’ crashes into California spraying ‘fire hose’ of six inches of snow an hour and torrential rain down the West coast – as millions across Plains, Midwest and South brace for blizzards, tornadoes and severe storms

• 
  A major winter storm will blanket California and the West through the weekend before becoming a Northern Plains blizzard and moving towards the northeast 
• Flooding and winds of over 50mph and gusts exceeding 100mph are also predicted with the conditions expected to last until Monday  
• The storm is so powerful because of a southward plunge of the jet stream which will move eastwards across the country this weekend into next week
• An ‘atmospheric river’ is a plume of moisture coming off the Pacific similar to a fire hose firing moisture into a specific area for an extended period of time
• Forest Service Sierra Avalanche Center has said that there is increased risk of landslides in the Sierra Nevada mountains due to the weather

By PAUL FARRELL and JAMES GORDON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A winter storm packing powerful winds, aided by what’s being termed an ‘atmospheric river,’ is bringing heavy rain and several feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada.

The storm shut down mountain highways, toppled trees and triggered flood and avalanche warnings on Saturday from the coast of Northern California to Lake Tahoe. 

More than 250 miles of the Sierra remained under a winter storm warning at least until early Monday from north of Reno to south of Yosemite National Park.

As much as 4 feet of snow is expected to fall by the end of the weekend in the upper elevations around Lake Tahoe, and as much as 6 feet in more remote parts of the Sierra to the north and south.

A 70-mile stretch of eastbound U.S. Interstate 80 was closed ‘due to zero visibility’ from Colfax, California to the Nevada state line, transportation officials said while tire chains were required on much of the rest of I-80 in the mountains from Reno toward Sacramento.

An ‘atmospheric river’ is a plume of moisture which comes in off the Pacific Ocean and is similar to a fire hose as it fires moisture into one specific area for an extended period of time leading to heavy rain or snow, explained CNN.

+38View gallery

Satellite imagery shows s a mega storm baring down on the West coas.+38View gallery

This image from a Caltrans traffic camera shows snow conditions on California SR-89 Snowman in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California on Saturday+38View gallery

California Highway Patrol Truckee tweets video of a snowstorm in California at the Nevada State line+38View gallery

This snowmobile had GPS with no visibly indications of where a path may lie+38View gallery

In this image taken from video from a Caltrans remote video traffic camera shows traffic moving slowly through the snowy conditions along Interstate 80 near Truckee, California+38View gallery

Traffic conditions appear to be worsening on I-80 west approaching the California State Agricultural Inspection+38View gallery

Donner Pas,  a 7,056-foot-high mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada appeared to have treacherous conditions+38View gallery

A rest stop in the Sierra Nevadas appeared to be completely consumed by snowfall +38View gallery

A stretch of California Highway 89 was closed due to heavy snow between Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe, California, the highway patrol said. Interstate 80 between Reno and Sacramento remained open but chains were required on tires for most vehicles+38View gallery

Winds in the Sierra Nevada could exceed 100 mph. Pictured, Heavenly Ski resort which saw ski lifts blowing around in the wind+38View gallery

One Twitter user in California’s Sierra Nevada took a photo that showed several feet of snow+38View gallery

Even a snowmobile appeared to be having difficulty getting around in the near white out conditions+38View gallery

More than a foot of snow had fallen by late afternoon in the Sierra Nevada region+38View gallery

Even the snowmobiles appeared to have problems getting through the white stuff+38View gallery

9 inches appeared to have fallen at around 5pm in Plumas County in the Sierra NevadaRoads closed by dangerous whiteout conditions as snowstorm hits CALoaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipMuteCurrent Time0:00/Duration Time0:42Fullscreen

A winter storm packing powerful winds, aided by what’s being termed an ‘atmospheric river,’ is bringing heavy rain and several feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada.

The storm shut down mountain highways, toppled trees and triggered flood and avalanche warnings on Saturday from the coast of Northern California to Lake Tahoe. /./…..more here

Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2022 Hiram's 1555 Blog