PACIFIC STORM PRIMED TO DRENCH CALIFORNIA.Byline: Daily News Wire Services Howling out of the central Pacific with a mega-load of subtropical sub·trop·i·cal adj. Of, relating to, or being the geographic areas adjacent to the Tropics. subtropical Adjective of the region lying between the tropics and temperate lands moisture, the biggest storm of this winter was poised to slam into California this weekend, bringing drenching drenching farmer's term for the administration of medicines as solutions or suspensions in water by mouth with a drench bottle, gun or funnel. drenching bit to be included in a bridle as a bit. rains, high winds and, in the Sierra Nevada Sierra Nevada, mountain range, Spain Sierra Nevada (syā`rä nāvä`thä), chief mountain range of S Spain, in Granada prov., running from east to west for c.60 mi (100 km), parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. , a potentially soggy finish to a week of heavy snow. And that's just the start of it. A second, equally powerful storm is expected to arrive Monday and Tuesday. The Sierra Nevada got its preview of the action from a winter storm that by Friday had dumped up to 40 inches of prime powder at some ski areas. However, by early afternoon, Squaw Valley Squaw Valley, valley, NE Calif., in the Sierra Nevada Mts., NW of Lake Tahoe. A well-known ski and winter recreational resort, it was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Ski lifts and trails are on Squaw Peak (8,960 ft/2,731 m high). had begun offering partial refunds to those that braved the high winds and blowing snow Blowing snow[1] is snow lifted from the surface by the wind, at a height of 8 feet (2 meters) or more, that will reduce visibility. Blowing snow can come from falling snow or snow that already accumulated on the ground but is picked up and blown about by strong winds. . National Weather Service officials are calling conditions in the Tahoe region ``flat-out hazardous,'' with an additional four inches of snow expected this weekend. But if you're not already there, it may be too late: By today, the snow could turn to rain. Stretched out across the Pacific on Friday afternoon, the storm is forecast to hit nearly the entire West Coast, reaching as far south as Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. on Monday. Weather forecasters call such storm systems the pineapple connection because they draw warm, moist air from near the Hawaiian Islands. When that warm air collides with the colder air over North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and slams into the coastal mountain ranges that drive the air up and cool it off, the result is much heavier rain than California typically gets from storms that originate in Verb 1. originate in - come from stem - grow out of, have roots in, originate in; "The increase in the national debt stems from the last war" the Gulf of Alaska Noun 1. Gulf of Alaska - a gulf of the Pacific Ocean between the Alaska Peninsula and the Alexander Archipelago Pacific, Pacific Ocean - the largest ocean in the world . In the Sierra Nevada, which has been buried under new snow, the coming storm is expected to produce mostly rain below 7,000 feet. Caltrans workers Friday continued plowing Interstate 80, where chains were required, and highway officials advised drivers to pack warm clothes and be patient. The powerful storm also dumped snow and freezing rain Freezing Rain is a type of precipitation that begins as snow at higher altitude, falling from a cloud towards earth, melts completely on its way down while passing through a layer of air above freezing temperature, and then across the Northwest and left more than 300,000 homes and businesses without power in Washington and Oregon on Friday. It stymied buses and planes and closed highway passes through the Cascade Range as well. Downtown Seattle was a virtual ghost town, with almost no traffic and few people - but the coffee houses managed to stay open. ``We are like the mailmen - we have to be,'' said Kirsta Catlin, manager trainee at a Starbucks coffee shop near downtown. ``In fact, I think we have mailmen in here right now.'' The storm sent ice-laden trees crashing down on homes, streets and power lines in Washington and Oregon, and more rain and snow was expected late Saturday. ``It looks like the same thing all over again,'' said National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Robinson, with ``the same amount of precipitation - or higher.'' Snowfall amounts in western Washington ranged from about half a foot in downtown Seattle to 15 inches in suburban areas. In Oregon, more than 2 inches of freezing rain fell on the Columbia River Gorge, which had 8 inches of snow on the ground. In Washington's Thurston County, at the southern end of Puget Sound, only 4 inches of snow fell, but freezing rain created a mess by felling trees and power lines. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) Jose Gallardo of Kings Beach on Lake Tahoe shovels snow Friday morning as a storm closes in. Associated Press (2) A bird takes refuge from rain in a light at the Victory Boulevard and Kester Avenue intersection in Van Nuys. David R. Crane/Daily News |
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