The
third storm in a handful of days to hit Northern California was
expected to give the region a wet and windy Christmas, bringing welcome
moisture to the snowpack-dependent state but dangerous avalanche
conditions to popular ski areas.
Tuesday's storm -- the third to
hit the region since Saturday -- will bring more heavy rain to Northern
and Central California and snow in the mountains, National Weather
Service forecasters said.
With the ground saturated with rain from
the two previous storms, forecasters were predicting a rapid rise in
the water levels of streams and creeks. The wet weather has already
proven dangerous, with an early-morning rescue Monday of a man who clung
for hours to a clump of bushes in the fast-moving Los Angeles River.
Firefighters
spent nearly two hours trying to rescue the man before an inflatable
boat pulled him from waters estimated to be traveling at 30 mph.
In
Northern California, a state Highway Patrol helicopter crew was
credited with the dramatic rescue of a 58-year-old motorist clinging to
the roof of his pickup after his truck was stranded in rushing flood
waters on a rural roadway in Livermore late Sunday. He was plucked from
the truck by a paramedic on a CHP helicopter and treated for hypothermia
at a hospital.
The storms dumped fresh snow on ski resorts along
the California-Nevada border. Squaw Valley USA near Lake Tahoe reported
receiving more than 3 feet of new snow between Friday and early Sunday,
helping the resort reach its second-largest Christmas Day snowpack since
1970, said spokeswoman Amelia Richmond.
"The conditions are
phenomenal, especially for those who like fresh snow," Richmond said
Sunday. "It's an incredible setup (for the holidays), and we're looking
forward to a very white Christmas."
It also created deadly
avalanche conditions in the Sierra Nevada. Authorities say a 49-year-old
snowboarder died Monday at Donner Ski Ranch after he was buried under 2
to 3 feet of snow.
A veteran ski patroller at Alpine Meadows was
hospitalized Monday after being buried in a slide that had been
intentionally set with an explosive device. The patroller, who had 28
years of experience at the resort, was uncovered within eight minutes.
"The
charge triggered the avalanche, which broke much higher and wider on
the slope than previously observed in past snow safety missions," Alpine
Meadows said in a statement.
On Sunday, two skiers at Squaw
Valley -- a 39-year-old woman and 16-year-old boy -- were treated for
non-life threatening injuries after they were swept up in an avalanche.
But
the severe storms that saturated Northern California over the weekend
helped give a much-needed boost to regional reservoirs and created ideal
skiing conditions along the Sierra. The downpours have kept the grass
green for cattle feeds and replenished reservoirs, San Joaquin County
Agriculture Commissioner Scott Hudson said Monday.
"It's much
better than what it was at this time last year when we were fairly dry,"
Hudson said. "This year's rain has come in intervals where it's keeping
us saturated, but not flooded."
Hudson said the rain has not only helped grow grass for cows, but also helped build the water supply.
"That is a welcome sight for us," Hudson said. "As far as the reserves, what we get now will help our crops grow next summer."
Squaw
Valley has received some 200 inches of snow so far this season,
compared with nearly 250 inches of snow on Christmas Day 2010, when the
region was en route to a snowpack twice the normal average. Squaw Valley
averages 450 inches of snow a year.
With more snow expected in
the mountains, a winter weather advisory was issued for the northern
Sierra for Christmas Day, the National Weather Service said.
end quote from:
Northern California to get wet, windy Christmas
The Republic
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