California’s Lake Tahoe received enough snow and rain to raise the lake level almost two inches, according to a Digital Journal story on Wednesday, all due to a cold Pacific storm that has hit the Pacific Northwest and western Canada particularly hard.
Northwest U.S. Forecast
The system that has brought welcome snow to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the northern part of the state is expected to taper off tonight, with Christmas Day expected to be clear and sunny with a high near 50 degrees in Sacramento. And this kind of weather is a great relief for the drought-stricken state, but there will be a lot more needed to turn things around.
Winter Storm Goliath will continue to track across the country, bringing snow to parts of the West to parts of the Plains, Upper Midwest and possibly New England by Monday or Tuesday.
Southeastern U.S. Forecast
While the west coast of the U.S. is experiencing almost normal, winter-like weather conditions, in the southeastern tier of states, it will seem more like summer, with temperatures above normal. On Thursday morning, New York City, as well as Atlanta, Philadelphia, Providence, Rhode Island, and Burlington, Vermont, and a number of other cities set daily high-temperature records.
In other weather-related news, the death toll has risen to 10 after tornadoes and severe storms slammed through the South and Midwest Wednesday. On Thursday, heavy rains flooded parts of Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina causing mudslides, multiple road closures, and the closure of two of Atlanta’s public rail stations.
Dr. Greg Forbes, a severe weather expert with The Weather Channel said today that preliminary estimates put the number of tornadoes at 15 touching down on Wednesday with most of them being in northern Mississippi and southern Tennessee.
Our neighbors Down Under
Depending on where you live in Australia, there are bush-fires, a heatwave, cyclones and rain to contend with on Friday. In Victoria, the weather will see-saw back-and-forth, starting with a sweltering hot Christmas day with temps expecting to reach 35C and on up to 39C in Melbourne by Saturday.
Then there is the gully-washer rains predicted, with as much as 10 to 20 mm of rain or even more expected for Victoria. This has prompted authorities to issue warnings to anyone camping near waterways because of flood dangers. “Many caravan and camping areas are located on low-lying land close to a river, stream, estuary or beach front,” a statement said on Thursday, according to the Australian.
Queensland and the Northern territories have been hoping Santa would bring a much-needed cyclone to the region for Christmas, but the weather service has downgraded the chance from high to moderate. A flood watch has been issued for North West coastal rivers in the Northern Territory, where as much as 400 to 500 mm of rain is expected.
In Tasmania and Western Australia, there are fire weather alerts in place and a total ban on fires is expected for Christmas day. South Australia is also bracing for bush-fires with temperatures to rise to 37C. The Country Fire Service state coordinator Leigh Miller told news.com.au the forecast conditions are the worst he can recall for Christmas Day in almost 30 years.
What the Met has to say about Christmas Day
Not many people are going to like the Christmas day forecast for the UK. The Met says the Uk can expect 80 mph winds and torrential downpours on the 25th. with new risks of flooding. The worst risk is for the already battered North and Yorkshire. The folks in Cumbria will be facing their fourth chance of flooding in as many weeks over the next 24-26 hours.
The new storm, named Eva, with predicted winds capable of hitting 110 mph, is forecast to bring 20-foot waves along the south-west coasts and 22-foot high waves on western Scotland’s coasts. In other weather-related news, Colchester Winter Wonderland and Ice Rink, which opened 25 days ago has been forced to close down. According to the Telegraph, the company said, “unseasonably high temperatures and strong winds throughout November and December” had forced them to close.
