Major Natural Disasters California 2024: Blockbuster blizzard is slamming California with 12 feet of snow possible, 100-mph wind gusts
By Mary Gilbert and Elliana Hebert, CNN Updated 3:48 PM EST, Fri March 1, 2024
A dangerous winter storm has arrived in California and will unload feet of snow, powerful winds and rare blizzard conditions in the mountains through the weekend.
The storm will bury California under its biggest snowfall of the year posing a significant danger to travelers – but provide a huge boost for the state’s water supply and tourism.
Winds gusted over 140 mph in the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada alongside heavy snow Thursday. Gusts there topped 150 mph on Friday as blizzard conditions kicked into overdrive. Nearly 2 feet of snow has already fallen with extreme snowfall to come.
Snowfall rates are expected to reach 3 to 5 inches an hour from Friday through Saturday – especially along the Sierra Nevada.
The prolonged extreme snowfall means 6 to 12 feet of snow could bury parts of the mountains in just a matter of a few days.
The most extreme conditions are unfolding at the highest elevations, with wind gusts in excess of 100 mph on the highest peaks of the Sierra in addition to feet of snow. Winds are blowing so hard that it may be difficult to measure snow accurately with the potential for huge snow drifts.
Winds started to roar Thursday with widespread gusts of 60 to 80 mph reported for elevations above 3,000 feet. Twenty inches of snow fell from Thursday to Friday morning at Donner Peak while a foot or more buried other parts of the Sierra.
Heavy snow and roaring winds are expected to combine to produce rare and long-lasting blizzard conditions for much of the Sierra and parts of the northern ranges. Visibility plummeted to near-zero, meaning it’s impossible to see farther than a few feet – or at all – early Friday.
Strong winds whipped up snow along elevated portions of I-80 early Friday, creating challenging visibility as tractor-trailers struggled to navigate snow-covered roads.
Given these conditions, there is a “high chance of substantial, long-lasting disruptions to daily life in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada Friday through Saturday,” the Weather Prediction Center warned.
Yosemite National Park, which is under a blizzard warning through the weekend, is closed Friday through at least Sunday afternoon, the National Park Service said.
Unlike other storms this winter, snow is falling well below pass levels for all impacted ranges. Close to a foot of snow is expected through the weekend for areas as low as 5,000 feet. Several inches are also possible for even lower elevations, including Reno, Nevada. Wind gusts of up to 60 mph will continue to blow through the lower elevations alongside snow.
The intense conditions at lower elevations increase the risk of danger on the road.
Travel will remain “extremely dangerous to impossible” across the Sierra through the weekend, the weather service warned. Parts of major roadways like I-80 could be shut down for long stretches.
Strong winds have expanded well beyond where the snow is falling. Gusts in excess of 55 mph will persist for much of the West – including the Rockies – through Sunday.
Strong, prolonged winds could bring down trees and power lines, resulting in property damage and power outages.
The heaviest snow and strongest winds from this blockbuster storm are forecast to slowly wind down in California on Sunday. But a new storm could arrive by Monday, right on the current storm’s heels.
It is expected to be less intense overall, but bring another quick burst of snowy weather to Northern California and the Pacific Northwest into Wednesday.
What to expect from upcoming winter weather
The Winter Storm Severity Index uses weather forecasts and other non-meteorological data to anticipate the impact of winter storms for the continental US. Here’s the WSSI for the next three days.
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In His Service,
Night Watchman
Paul Rolland
Night Watchman Ministries
Make Your (7) Decision for Christ NOW!!!!!!! Time is Up!!!!!!!
Jesus Christ’s Offer of Salvation:
The ABCs (7) of Salvation through Jesus Christ (the Lamb)
- (7) Admit/Acknowledge/Accept that you are sinner. Ask (7) God’s forgiveness and repent of your sins.
. . . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).
. . . “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).
. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).
B. Believe Jesus is Lord. Believe that (7) Jesus Christ is who He claimed to (7) be; that He was both fully God (7) and fully man and that we are (7) saved through His death, burial, and resurrection. (7) Put your trust in Him as your (7) only hope of salvation. Become a son (7) or daughter of God by receiving Christ. (7777777) 7×7
. . . “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:15-17). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).
C. Call upon His name, Confess (7) with your heart and with your lips (7) that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.
. . . “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).
. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (John 1:8-10).
. . . “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2).
. . . “In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:9, 14-15).
. . . “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10).
. . . “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).
. . . “Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
. . . “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” (Romans 1:16).
. . . “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts: 4:12).
. . . “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).
. . . “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
. . . “But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12).
True Church / Bride of Christ Spared from God’s Wrath:
Romans 5:8-10. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
Romans 12:19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 1:10. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 5:9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Jeremiah 30:7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.