Despite a barrage of storms during October, much of the West is still dealing with extreme drought. Forecasters say another parade of storms will continue to help build reservoir levels through early November.
Updated Nov. 3, 2021 7:56 PM EDT
The northwestern United States is currently getting bombarded by a series of storms that is expected to continue for several more days. AccuWeather forecasters say the storms are delivering welcome amounts rain and mountain snow, but also raising flooding concerns.
A dip in the jet stream across the Bering Sea through the northern Pacific Ocean will push waves of energy toward the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Northwest this week, according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok, who added that temperatures will be near to below normal.
The first of these waves pushed onshore Monday and Monday night, bringing light rain to cities like Seattle, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco before moving inland to places like Yakima, Washington; Elko, Nevada; and Boise, Idaho.
Another wave arrived on Tuesday with another helping of rain and mountain snow.
This will be just one in a series of systems moving into the area through the rest of the week and into next week, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Rinde.
Rain is forecast to spread into the interior Northwest and southward to the San Francisco Bay Area Wednesday night.
AccuWeather forecasters expect rain to become particularly heavy in areas west of the Cascades and parts of northwestern California Wednesday night. Residents should prepare for localized flooding as well as wind gusts up to 55 mph along the coast.
The precipitation is expected to continue spreading across the Northwest and the northern half of California early Thursday as showers. Showers can arrive in places like Boise and Elko again Thursday afternoon.
This same wave could bring freezing levels to 4,000 feet in the Cascades and 5,000 feet toward the Intermountain West, according to Pastelok.
In fact, each system this week into next can help extend the risk for rain and mountain snow farther south.
"Another storm is anticipated to come ashore and bring major impacts to the Pacific Northwest by Saturday and through Saturday night that could bring some snow to some of the major passes in the Cascades,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo said.
Snow levels are anticipated to get down to 3,000-4,000 feet in the Cascades Saturday which could bring accumulating snow to Snoqualmie Pass, about 3,000 feet above sea level. Any accumulating snow on roadways could make travel difficult in the mountain passes. Snow will spread farther inland across the mountainous areas of Idaho and into the northern Rockies with a mix of rain and snow possible in eastern Washington including Spokane, Washington.
Rain showers will spread to many areas east of the Cascades with rain, that could be heavy at times, along the Northwest coast and extending into Northern California. Heavy rain coupled with very strong wind gusts along the coast will bring the risk of power outages to the region.
"By the middle of next week, there will likely be many places that get several inches of rain with snow in the mountains being measured in feet," said Rinde.
Forecasters say motorists should prepare for rainy or even wintry weather this week by planning extra time to get to and from destinations carefully, looking into winter tires and bringing an emergency kit in the car for each trip. Some states, including Oregon, are currently experiencing a snowplow driver shortage.
Despite any travel difficulties and local flooding created by these systems, the precipitation will continue to be beneficial in at least one sense.
"While there will be many that find this weather upsetting and annoying, there are still places with significant drought, and these are still much-needed rain and snow events," Rinde said.
Despite the recent parade of storms during the second half of October that brought beneficial precipitation, over 50% of the West is still in extreme drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor. A quarter of the state of Oregon is in exceptional drought, while the number in California is nearing 40%.
Most reservoirs across California are still hurting for water and remain well below the historical average despite the recent bomb cyclone that brought incredible lake level rises. Trinity Lake, northwest of Redding, California, is currently at only 28% of capacity and 48% of the historical average. Lake Shasta, to the east, is even lower at 22% of capacity and 41% of the historical average.
"There's still a long way to go in order to ease drought and water usage concerns," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
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