Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Even as the sun came out in a few areas of California state of the United States, swollen rivers posed flooding threats amidst the ongoing ninth storm of the unprecedented winter season of serial atmospheric rivers during the last three weeks. Massive amounts of rain and snow have fallen during this period.
With heavy snow falling across the Sierra Nevada mountains, the US National Weather Service discouraged travel. Over the weekend, an important highway, that connects the ski resorts of Lake Tahoe with San Francisco’s Bay Area, faced closures due to whiteout conditions.
On Monday, vehicular traffic was allowed only if snow chains were attached in order to travel safely on the icy road surface.
126cm of New Snow has Fallen Friday
According to the Sierra Snow Lab of the University of California Berkeley on Monday, since Friday as much as 126cm of new snow had fallen. For the entire central Sierra, an avalanche alert had been issued.
Since late December, a series of storms termed atmospheric rivers have dumped snow and rain on California. As a result, thousands are without power, roads have been inundated by flood water, and landslides have been triggered along with flows of debris.
According to forecasters, Monday’s weather system was a bit weaker as compared to earlier storms, however, as California’s soil was already saturated, mudslides and flooding risks remained.
Read Also: New Storms Lash Already-flooded California
