Wind, rain, snow intensifies in Sacramento, Sierra from cold atmospheric river storm
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Winter Storm 2021
A powerful atmospheric river is delivering widespread rain across the Sacramento Valley and steady snow in the Sierra Nevada. Here’s the latest news.
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Read the latest on the storm: Heavy rain, snow will resume; stretch of Highway 50 closed
A powerful atmospheric river continued to deliver widespread rain across the Sacramento Valley and steady snow in the Sierra Nevada with flooding expected through Tuesday morning.
The strongest weather came Monday afternoon during rush hour, specifically between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., in Sacramento with intensified bands of rain and wind gusts.
About 6:45 p.m., Caltrans reported flooding was blocking two northbound lanes on Highway 99 near 47th Avenue in south Sacramento. Caltrans cameras showed traffic moving slowly through the area. Southbound traffic just north of 41st also was moving slowly as of 7 p.m. Monday.
The National Weather Service in Sacramento issued a flood advisory warning that will remain in effect until 6:30 a.m. Tuesday for portions of the Central Valley from Chico to Modesto, including Sacramento and Stockton. The advisory also was issued for the adjacent Sierra foothills and included El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Yuba and Nevada counties.
The weather service said heavy rainfall has resulted in minor road and urban flooding and they urged motorists not to drive through flooded areas. An additional 1 to 2.5 inches of rain was expected to fall on the region overnight.
By 6:30 p.m. Monday, between 1 and 4 inches of rain had fallen over much of the Valley, and an additional 1 to 2.5 inches of rain was expected to fall on the region overnight, according to the weather service.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Craig Shoemaker said Sacramento on Monday morning had already seen just over a half-inch of rain and will accumulate a total of 2½ inches by Wednesday morning.
Snowfall had already exceeded 20 inches in some areas with the worst of the storm still yet to come.. Just like the Valley’s heavy rainfall, the storm is expected to dump the heaviest snow after 2 p.m.
Elevations above 4,000 feet could see 2 to 3 feet of snow, and areas above 6,000 feet could get up to 6 feet of snow with as much as 2 to 3 inches of snow falling an hour. Shoemaker says elevations as low as 3,000 feet could see snow.
On Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service said the heaviest rain and snow will continue to fall overnight into Tuesday across the Sacramento region; traveling in the mountains was highly discouraged. Overnight, the weather service expected rain in the valley and moderate to heavy snowfall above the mountain elevations of 2,000 to 3,500 feet with “difficult to impossible mountain travel with whiteout conditions.”
On Tuesday night, lingering valley showers were expected and snow showers above 2,500 feet elevation, the weather service said. On Wednesday through Thursday, widespread valley showers and mountain snow was expected, making mountain travel difficult, the weather service said.
This storm marks the first “really significant” snowfall of the season, Shoemaker said. A storm in October that set the 24-hour record for rainfall and other smaller storms that have passed through have all been warmer systems, whereas this is the first cold system to rake across Northern California with measurable precipitation.
“We’ve been lacking snowpack over the Sierra even though our precipitation has been right around normal or above normal for the season,” Shoemaker said. “This is really good ... it’ll certainly help out with drought conditions we’ve had.”
Sacramento-area shelters for homeless
The City of Sacramento will open the respite center in City Hall for people experiencing homelessness as strong wind continues and overnight temperatures are expected to drop into the 30s again this week.
The City Hall Lobby at 915 I Street will be open from 8 p.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday. City officials said staff will continue to monitor the weather and will extend respite center operations as necessary.
Guests staying there overnight will have a warm place to stay, blankets, snacks, water and restroom facilities, according to a city news release. There is a covered and protected outdoor space that can accommodate pets in kennels or crates.
The city has about 1,100 beds in various settings for people experiencing homelessness, which are currently full. City officials said the respite center offers an alternative to those most vulnerable during this winter storm.
The Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance has activated its severe weather motel respite response, offering motel vouchers to people through a referral process.
Participants in the motel sheltering program are allowed to bring partners, pets and a limited number of possessions with them during their stay, according to a county news release. Officials said 95 people had checked into these motel rooms as of Monday morning, and the program will run at least through Thursday morning.
The county department also will open the 1725 28th Street service center for use as a weather respite area from 6 p.m. Monday through 6 a.m. Tuesday.
County officials said anyone is welcome at the 28th Street site. Protective facial coverings will be required and provided to all visitors; pets must be on a leash or contained in an animal carrier at all times.
The Elk Grove overnight warming location at United Methodist Church will stay open through Thursday. The warming location at the church, 8966 Elk Grove Blvd., in the city’s Old Town, is open 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. for adults who are unhoused or who live in homes without adequate heat; pets are not allowed. Families with children will be referred to a motel voucher program.
Sacramento-area power outages
Widespread power outages were reported in the Sacramento area Monday afternoon. Nearly 29,000 Sacramento Municipal Utility District customers were without electricity as of 12:30 p.m., which included about 13,000 customers in Cirtus Heights and about 12,000 in Elk Grove. SMUD customers in Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, North Highlands, Carmichael, Galt and Rancho Murietta also were without power at that time.
“We’re experiencing scattered outages throughout our service area due to the storm,” SMUD officials announced on Twitter Monday afternoon. “Our crews are working as safely and as quickly as possible to restore power. Strong winds can cause delays due to the safety of our crews.”
By 2 p.m., nearly 2,000 homes and businesses in the Sacramento area were still without power, but SMUD crews had restored power to most of the Citrus Heights customers. SMUD officials said wind had blown trees and limbs onto power lines. Updates on SMUD power outages are available online.
Rain and snow totals so far
With the heaviest precipitation still ahead, downtown Sacramento has accumulated .66 inches since the storm began, .33 of which fell Monday. Other areas have seen more rain: Both Sacramento International Airport and Foothill Farms have gotten 1.54 inches in the past 36 hours, according to NWS. Here’s a look at rain totals for the past six hours:
- Sacramento International Airport, .47 inches
- Sacramento Executive Airport, .35 inches
- Foothill Farms, .42 inches
- Davis, .61 inches
- Elk Grove, .25 inches
- Rancho Cordova, .24 inches
- Rocklin, .52 inches
Impressive levels of snow have already accumulated in the Sierra, too. Here’s a look through 10 a.m.:
- Castle Peak, 25 inches
- Sierra Snow Lab, 23½ inches
- Soda Springs, 21 inches
- Sugar Bowl, 24 inches
- Homewood, 22 inches
- Kirkwood, 18 inches
- Boreal, 16 inches
- Bear Valley, 15 inches
- Doge Ridge, 12 inches
- Blue Canyon, 8 inches
- Eagle Lake, 4 inches
Road conditions
Visibility across Northern California will be extremely poor today. Near zero-visibility conditions are expected in some mountain areas with whiteout conditions over the Sierra particularly through Monday evening. Visibility will also be reduced in the valley because of heavy rain, falling to under below 2 miles “quite routinely,” Shoemaker said.
Eastbound traffic on Interstate 80 and Highway 20 was stopped for about 30 minutes Monday afternoon before Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crews cleared downed power lines from the roadway, Caltrans said.
Transportation officials are urging motorists to put off travel to the Sierra until at least Tuesday evening. Caltrans says chains are required on all vehicles except 4-wheel-drive vehicles with snow tires on the following roadways:
- Highway 28 east of Tahoe City in Placer County.
- Highway 32 east of Forest Ranch in Butte County.
- Highway 49 from Bassetts to Sattley in Sierra County.
- Highway 50 from 3 miles east of Kyburz to Meyers in El Dorado County.
- Eastbound Interstate 80 from Cisco to Truckee in Placer and Nevada counties.
- Westbound Interstate 80 from Truckee to Nyack Road; a brake check is in place at Nyack for tractor-trailers.
- Highway 88 from Dew Drop to Silver Lake in Amador County.
- Highway 89 in multiple spots from Mono County to Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Highway 4 is closed from Highway 207/Mt. Reba to the junction with Highway 89; chains or snow tires are required west of Cabbage Patch in Calaveras County to the Mt. Reba turnoff in Alpine County.
A rockslide has closed Highway 70 in the Feather River Canyon near the Butte-Plumas county line. Caltrans does not have an estimated time of reopening.
Just before 8 a.m., Caltrans crews temporarily closed Highway 88 at Carson Pass for avalanche control.
On the Valley floor, high-wind advisories remain in effect, and high-profile vehicles such as campers are not recommended on the following roadways:
- Interstate 5 from the San Joaquin-Sacramento county line north to the Sacramento-Yolo line.
- Interstate 80 over the Yolo Causeway and in the Bay Area.
Highway 99 from the San Joaquin-Sacramento county line north to the Sacramento-Sutter line.
Conditions during the morning commute in and around Sacramento have been slick, with multiple spinouts reported on all area freeways, according to the California Highway Patrol’s incident log. However, no major incidents have been reported as of 7 a.m.
Officials urge motorists to drive slow and not to drive through standing water.
Wind speeds
Wind speeds in the early afternoon around the capital region range from around 20 to 40 mph — though earlier today a gust at Sacramento Mather Airport reached 56 mph, according to the weather service. Here’s a look at wind speeds in the area as of around 1:30 p.m.:
- McClellan Airport, 43 mph
- Sacramento International Airport, 36 mph
- Capital City Freeway at Exposition Boulevard, 23 mph
- Elk Grove, 21 mph
- Folsom Lake, 42 mph
- Davis, 36 mph
- Citrus Heights, 21 mph
- Beale Air Force Base, 39 mph
- Rocklin, 22 mph
Will this storm end the drought?
It’s too early to say whether this storm will end the drought, but it will certainly help.
“We’re making huge strides in improving those conditions,” Shoemaker said.
This storm already pushed total rainfall in downtown Sacramento for the 2021-22 water year, which began Oct. 1, past the 7.87 inches that accumulated in the last cycle. Sacramento exceeded that level around 6 p.m. Sunday evening, the weather service said.
How does this storm compare to the record-setting rain event in October?
Compared to the 100-year storm Sacramento saw two months ago, this storm is much more normal: Shoemaker said this storm is a moderate atmospheric river event that’s spreading precipitation out over several days, whereas the October storm dropped significant amounts of water in just a day and a half.
“This (storm) is not unusual. It’s just sort of different from the past couple of years because we’ve been in a drought,” Shoemaker said. “So we haven’t gotten systems like this routinely.”
When will this storm end?
This storm is expected to wind down by Wednesday morning, but it will only be a short break before another system makes it’s way through the region. That second system will bring overall rain totals in Sacramento to about three inches by Thursday morning, Shoemaker said.
That storm is expected to be colder than the current system and will add another one to two feet of snow at pass level, Shoemaker added.
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 7:15 AM with the headline "Wind, rain, snow intensifies in Sacramento, Sierra from cold atmospheric river storm."
