Western U.S. Continues to Get Hit by Pacific Storm Train

A line of storms coming ashore from the Pacific Ocean will continue to raise the threat of flooding beyond the Christmas holiday for parts of the western U.S. Here is what you can expect for weather for the balance of the holiday week for the West Coast.

Pacific Storm Train Hits Full Gear

A series of storms that originate in the Pacific will present travel woes for those heading home after Christmas Day. Each storm will usher in impacts such as torrential rain, high winds, and snow for the higher terrains. The train of storms is forecast to impact the western third of the country through the last weekend of the year.

The continual stream of moisture will increase the chances of flash flooding in a zone from Northern California and up through Oregon and Washington state. It has already been a soggy December with an active weather pattern resulting in new storms coming ashore every 24 to 72 hours for the last few weeks.

The storm that roared into Northern California early this week was so strong that sent part of the Santa Cruz Wharf in Santa Cruz collapsing into the ocean. Two people were rescued after the pier fell into the water. A third person was able to swim to safety after high waves brought down the wharf that was undergoing construction.

Forecasters are warning that more severe weather is in store for the region, compounding the delays during one of the busiest travel times of the year. Both motorists and air travelers will likely see the effects of the unsettled weather pattern.

The early week storm was just a sign of what is to come later in the week for the West Coast. The new weather maker is forecast to send rain of about 4 to 8 inches falling along the coast of northwestern California and up into Olympic Peninsula in Washington beginning late Christmas Day and lingering through Friday.

The risk of flooding will be elevated because the ground is already so saturated along this stretch of coastline. Mudslides will also be a concern in areas with burn scars and along the short-run rivers that flow out of the Cascade Mountains.

The busy Interstate 5 corridor from Seattle and down into Portland, Eugene, and Medford, Oregon should expect the heaviest bands of rain to fire up late Wednesday and into early Thursday. After a short respite on Thursday afternoon, another round of torrential rain is predicted to move along the corridor late Thursday and into Friday morning.

Places such as Eureka, California will get hammered with the late week storm. The city is bracing for rainfall of about a half of an inch Friday during the day with another inch in the forecast overnight. Saturday will bring another two inches of rain throughout the day and night. It will also be breezy during this time period with winds between 10 and 25 mph.

The second wave of moisture may creep as far south as the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday. For instance, the city is forecast to pick up rainfall of about a half of an inch late Thursday and into Friday. The cloudy conditions and scattered light rain showers will persist through the weekend for the metro area. Highs will hover around the 60-degree mark for the rest of the week with lows slipping just a few notches lower into the mid 50s.

Highs Winds Will Also Impact the Northwest and Beyond

The storms that are expected to impact the region in the days after Christmas are likely to bring in higher winds when compared to its predecessor. Gusts will reach speeds as high as 80 mph in parts of northwestern California and the coastline up through Oregon and Washington. The pairing of the winds and the overly saturated ground will translate to the risk of downed trees and power outages.

The snow levels will vary greatly with each separate burst of precipitation. Motorists should anticipate the possibility of road closures over some of the most heavily traveled mountain passes in the Northwest and Northern California. Stevens, Snoqualmie, and Scott Mountain Summit passes are all at risk of picking up significant snowfall accumulation between late Wednesday and Friday.

The fluctuation of the snow levels will also present the danger of avalanches. This is because some of the areas that see snow initially may then pick up rain that will increase the threat of avalanches as snow levels drop. Most of the Cascades, the northern Rocky Mountains, and the northern Sierra Nevada will all need to be aware of the chance of avalanches.

Looking ahead, forecasters are predicting that the active storm track will continue through the weekend. Milder air coming ashore will bring the snow levels up. The increasing snowmelt with the warmer temperatures and the arrival of rain will trigger the chance of flooding across intermediate mountain elevations.

More storm activity is on tap for the beginning of 2025. Stay tuned for more updates about this active weather pattern as the calendar flips to the new year.

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