Californians Told to Prepare for Series of Storms and Heavy Rain

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Brian K. Sullivan - Nov 27, 2012 3:48 PM ET

California emergency officials warned residents to get ready for a series of windy storms that may snap trees and drop 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain in higher elevations.

By the time the three storms end this weekend, San Francisco may receive 6 inches of rain and be whipped by winds of 35 to 45 miles (56 to 72 kilometers) per hour, said Logan Johnson, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, California.

“The impacts are going to be pretty far-reaching,” Johnson said by telephone. “Most of the state of California is going to be receiving rain, wind and snow in the high elevations.”

Gale warnings stretch from Olympia, Washington, to central California and high-wind warnings and watches reach from Oregon to Monterey, south of San Francisco. The California Emergency Management Agency urged residents to prepare for power failures and mudslides and to plot escape routes in case of flooding.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-27/californians-told-to-prepare-for-series-of-storms-and-heavy-rain.html

[FourScore]

1. Get ready for some houses to slide.

May the people be safe.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Purveyor.

[Journeyman]

3. I hope so. We could use a lot more rain and snow. Stay safe, and let's hope no one stays dry. . .

[calimary]

5. Man, could we EVER use more rain here in SoCal! Near-constant drought conditions.

A few little spits here and there, but that's nothing to fill the reservoirs with, or snow over the mountain peaks.

I LOVE the rain. Only problem is - it rains out here so infrequently that nobody remembers how to drive. Wet pavement is extra treacherous.

[Scairp]

44. It's raining here now

It rained yesterday and pretty much all night. I couldn't use my new telescope last night and I wanted to look at Jupiter so it was a bummer but we do need rain.

[calimary]

45. I woke up to the rain! Rain! SO COOL!

I sympathize though, Scairp. We missed one of the meteor showers because it was overcast one night. We do live in Southern California so the rain won't last long.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the rain - probably because we get so little. But hopefully it'll come in short stretches of a few days at a time, so we have time to absorb the water. That way, we won't have mudslides.

[mitchtv]

4. any is appreciated

in this dry corner

[Purveyor]

6. I hope some of it makes it up to Michigan as long as it doesn't come in the form of a ice-storm.

I've just got this awful feeling we are going to get hit with a week+ without power doozy this year.

Stay safe out there!

[Xithras]

7. Awesome

And I have't had a chance to cut down the creaky redwood behind my house yet. Hope it holds!

[DonRedwood]

18. Poor little redwood!!!

I wish I could adopt it!

[Xithras]

21. Lol, no you don't

I love my redwoods, but this one has a fierce case of root rot. You can actually hear the remaining roots creaking when the wind blows, as they struggle to hold the rest of the tree up. It's highly unlikely that it will survive the winter. I really intended to cut it down before the storms rolled in, but never had a chance.

It can fall in any direction except northeast. If it falls that way, it will flatten my carport. If it falls in any other direction, I may lose a fence or a garden box, but the damage will be minimal.

Who wants to place bets on my carport surviving the storm?

[alphafemale]

22. less than 5%

Trees are just evil that way.

[SoapBox]

8. but, but, but...

I just put up my Christmas decor!!!

...ya, ya, I know we need it really bad!

[slackmaster]

9. And San Diego will get the short end of the stick as usual

'Tis the Season.

[Mz Pip]

10. Sandbags are available

at a local park. They must be expecting quite a storm since in all the decades I've lived here I never received a notice about picking up sandbags.

I live near Berkeley, across the Bay from San Francisco. Not too worried about flooding but as I look out into my neighbors yards I can see somer pretty tall eculalyptus, redwoods and willow trees. Those could be a problem...

[XemaSab]

11. They're saying that here in Redding too

[olddad56]

12. especially the eculalyptus trees.

[BuddhaGirl]

14. Point Richmond here :-)

CA really needs the rain, and I hope my neighbors' eucalyptus can withstand this storm!

[xxqqqzme]

13. Have the levees

around Sacramento been strengthened? Or are we still pretending they're just fine?

[XemaSab]

16. The levees?

Is there a problem with the levees?

[DonRedwood]

19. pretending for the most part.... yikes!

[Xithras]

27. The levees directly around the city are fine.

The ACoE started strengthening the levees in the city more than a decade ago. They're still doing upgrade work, but the odds of a levee failure in the city itself are relatively slight.

The levee problems at this point are mostly upstream and on the Delta. THOSE levees are in crap shape. They always have been, and probably always will be. Everyone agrees that there's a problem, but nobody can agree on a fix. Personally, I strongly oppose direct reinforcement of the existing levees. They should be replaced with setbacks. We would lose farmland, but it would preserve habitat and reduce flood risk for the rest of the Valley. Farming groups, naturally, oppose this idea.

[xxqqqzme]

31. Thanks for that update.

n/t

[pink-o]

15. Ugh! Gotta drive thru it to SFO for my 5 am shift.

And if anyone is flying thru there tomorrow, expect your flights to be at least an hour delayed.

I don't care if we need it, I really don't love rain, wind and cold weather.

[SoCalMusicLover]

17. I Don't Suppose....

This Has Anything To Do With That Global Warming Stuff.

[dipsydoodle]

24. Check back in a years time

and see if there was any change in average annual rainfall for the area. At present it just looks likes end of November's and December's will drop in one go. We had rather a lot of rain in the UK last week but it had been below average , at least where I am, for months.

[SoCalMusicLover]

36. Rain In The UK?

Doesn't it pretty much rain most of the time over there in England?

How can you determine when it's "a lot of rain?"

Just teasing ya. I hope to experience some of that UK rain if I'm able to come there next June.

[dipsydoodle]

37. Hope you experience some good music here too.

btw our average rainfall has been c. 24" in living memory

[NickP]

20. Hope it's not too bad...

I know my area's supposed to get wet, I just hope it doesn't get too bad.

[CountAllVotes]

23. It's hitting heavy here now

Big blow is coming in right now in the north. Winds blowing fiercely and it is just beginning.

I fear this storm will take the fence down.

[goclark]

25. Stay safe everyone!

[CountAllVotes]

26. Managed to have a load of trash hauled away yesterday

It has been piling up in the yard for a few years now and no one cared to do anything about it until I finally got angry enough to get someone off their butt and get someone out here. Two full truck loads of leaves, sticks, trees, etc. all hauled away with one to go.

I felt sad for the man that came to do this work. It took him two hours and it was all of $40.00 including gas and the place he took it too will recycle all of this for free. He is a man in his late 50s I'd say and he has nowhere to live but on someone's sofa in a nearby town. Ain't that America ... where the hell are we going?

He might come back to get the final load today if there is a break in the weather for an hour or two. You never know with conditions like this.

It is not wise to allow rubbish to pile up like that in one's yard. It is not only a fire hazard but could also get hit with lightning and set the property ablaze and there is some unfenced field lands only a block or so away and lots of big huge trees here too; redwoods aplenty and when one of those goes down, watch out -- TIMBER!!!

Stay safe fellow Californians and others affected by this huge storm coming in now! Yikes!

[Gormy Cuss]

28. The rain doesn't worry me but the wind does.

Too many unhealthy trees in the neighbor's yard. Our own should be fine because we had them trimmed earlier in the year.

Flooding's usually not an issue in this neighborhood either but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[AngryAmish]

29. Is this a good thing or bad?

Wind is always bad but don't you need the rain? We sure do in Illinois.

[slackmaster]

30. It's both. Abundant snowfall in the Sierra Nevada that doesn't melt right away would be ideal.

Nature rarely provides the ideal.

[olddad56]

46. I think the slow level is 7000ft. This storm will melt any snow below that.

this is a warm rain, there will be a lot of water coming down out of the mountains.

[XemaSab]

32. We have four seasons here in California:

Drought, fire, mudslides, and flooding.

[REP]

35. I thought it was just On Fire and Wet

But I live in the Bay Area.

[XemaSab]

38. Some parts of the state also get dangerous fog

[Le Taz Hot]

33. Mild rain off and on

in Fresno most of the day. Wind but not high winds. The forecast is rain for the next couple of days. We could use a big downpour here but it's only supposed to be an inch overall. Maybe enough to get us up to "normal" status for the year.

Fresno is set up pretty well for flooding. We have the irrigation canals that run through the city plus we put in ponding basins all over the city back in the 70's that catch the excess. Additionally, the older homes (like mine) were built on slightly elevated ground and as bad as it's rained here in the past, there's never been any flooding in those areas. The newer neighborhoods -- the ones built in the last 10 years? Those houses were built on flat ground and face flooding problems every time we have more than a 1/2 inch of rain.

[JI7]

34. Good, i hope it's a cold dark wet winter this year, i love this type of weather

[Cherchez la Femme]

39. Anyone know how this may effect the faults?

And the increased, more vicious storms due to global warming?

[slackmaster]

41. The most widely accepted theory says it will get them wet

[Cherchez la Femme]

42. Smartypants. ; P

[cbayer]

40. Rainy and rocky out here at the island.

I like the rain. The rockiness, though, greatly inhibits my ability to get anything done.

Then again, it's a great excuse for staying under the covers with my laptop!

[Coyotl]

43. Five days of rain expected on the Oregon Coast

Expecting three inches of rain, added to twelve this month now.

[lucca18]

47. Violent storm last night in our area.

The wind was howling so loud......all night!
Since we live in a flood zone, hoping the water level from the nearby creek doesn't get too high!
Be safe everyone!

[slackmaster]

48. My car almost got wet yesterday