SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A warm storm event will impact most of California Thursday through Sunday but the atmospheric river associated with the storm will cause elevated issues for central California.
A category 3 Atmospheric River is forecast to hit along the coastline of the Bay Area. That influx of warm moisture is targeting the Central Sierra and expected to bring abundant rain to the valley and higher elevation snowfall.
The big difference maker with these storms is their origin. The warm air coming off the Hawaiian Islands will be raising snow levels above 4,000 feet up to 8,500 feet, Thursday into Friday morning. Snow levels should drop back down to about 5,500 feet by Saturday morning. This is a stark contrast from the low elevation snow near 500-1,000 feet over the last few weeks.
The accumulating snow at lower levels is projected to melt. If snow is still on rooftops, this could add to its weight and potentially cause collapses.
Area creeks, streams and rivers are expected to be taking on all this water and flowing into bigger tributaries. Nearby rivers could begin to reach near or above flood stage.
Right now, eight rivers could reach above flood stage. Those rivers are indicated as red dots and include: the Cosumnes River – Michigan Bar, Mokelumne River – Benson’s Ferry, Tuolumne River-Modesto, Merced River-Stevinson, Bear Creek- McKee Road, Russian River- Hopland, Salinas River-Spreckels, and Salinas River- Bradley.
21 rivers in orange, are expected to be above monitor stage, but currently aren't expected to pose major threats.
The Bureau of Reclamation is preparing to release water from Folsom Dam to alleviate issues downstream.
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