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    Home Climate

    West Coast Sees ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Winter Storms

    By: Olivia Rosane
    Published: March 3, 2023
    Edited by Chris McDermott
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    Snow covers homes, cars and palm trees in Rancho Cucamonga, California
    Snow covers homes, cars and palm trees in Rancho Cucamonga, California, on Feb. 25, 2023. JOSH EDELSON / AFP via Getty Images
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    The usually mild West Coast is seeing an unusually snowy winter, with flakes falling from Portland, Oregon to Phoenix. 

    In California, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for 13 counties Wednesday as back-to-back storms have buried mountain communities. 

    “This rain and snow bucked the trend and it’s highly unexpected,” meteorologist and former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration top scientist Ryan Maue said, as AP News reported. “It’s like once-in-a-generation.”

    You don't see graupel and snow showers with the ocean in the background very often. This video from #Malibu on Wednesday. #CAwx #LAweather https://t.co/G5jTIQPMSQ

    — NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) March 2, 2023

    California has seen an unusually wet winter, with a flood of atmospheric rivers beginning around New Year’s. Rain in the lowlands means snow in the mountains, and the state’s mountains have seen more than 40 feet this season, The Guardian reported.  

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    The most recent round of storms has piled so much snow on mountain communities that some of them are shut off, AP News reported further, hence the state of emergency. In San Bernardino county, for example, some areas were digging their way out from under seven feet of snow as of Wednesday. The roof of a Goodwin and Sons Market in Crestline collapsed under the weight, and David and Kelli Góra of Big Bear Lake said the snow hanging down from their roof had met the drifts rising up from the ground. 

    “We’ve been through some big storms… but this is just unreal,” David Góra told AP News. “I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere.”

    As of around noon local time on Friday, nearly 45,000 Californias were without power, according to PowerOutage.us. Joshua Tree and Yosemite National Parks are closed, with the latter breaking a 54-year record for daily snowfall, as The Guardian reported. 

    Yosemite has experienced significant snowfall in all areas of the park, with snow up to 15 feet deep in some areas and the park’s closure on Feb. 25. Park crews are working to restore critical services so visitors can safely return. There is no estimated date for reopening. pic.twitter.com/JE7E4SKWuq

    — Yosemite National Park (@YosemiteNPS) March 1, 2023

    For California, there is a positive side to all this snowfall, however. Once in the grip of a megadrought, much of Southern and Central California has now emerged, according to Thursday’s update of the U.S. Drought Monitor. 

    The drought in California is closer to being completely [officially] over. The drought monitor updates every Thursday.

    Pattern favors boatloads more rain and snow over California and West Coast over next 1-2 weeks.

    More juicy atmospheric rivers 🌧📈https://t.co/6I1YBEcOKf pic.twitter.com/kVjPzdGMhh

    — Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) March 2, 2023

    California isn’t the only part of the West experiencing an unusually wintry winter. Portland, Oregon, saw its biggest snowfall so late in the year and the second heaviest overall on Feb. 22 at 10.8 inches, as The Oregonian reported.

    “This is a big deal,” Portland National Weather Service meteorologist Tonja Fransen said at the time. 

    Even Phoenix got a dusting of snow Thursday morning, as AP News reported.

    10:50 PM MST Update: Radar imagery shows snow falling across the higher terrain to the north and east of Phoenix. There are reports of snow falling in North Scottsdale! Expect this activity to continue through the overnight period. #azwx pic.twitter.com/FqXOFdTQcb

    — NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) March 2, 2023

    What is the reason for the West Coast snow dump? Meteorologists don’t think La Niña is to blame, but rather a combo of cold air from the Arctic and a Pacific Ocean blockling pattern. As for the climate crisis? It’s difficult to say, but there are links between a warmer atmosphere and more extreme precipitation events. 

    “Heat produces moisture, moisture produces storms, and heat and moisture bind to produce even more severe storms,” NWS meteorologist Bianca Feldkircher told AP News. 

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      Olivia Rosane

      Olivia Rosane is a freelance writer and reporter with a decade’s worth of experience. She has been contributing to EcoWatch daily since 2018 and has also covered environmental themes for Treehugger, The Trouble, YES! Magazine and Real Life. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and a master’s in Art and Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London.
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