Another ethereal river starts to flood California.

By FOX Weather

December 30, 2022 | 10:01pm

California has had a rainy end to 2022.

THE SAN FRANCISCO — A second atmospheric river is pounding California over the weekend, bringing a renewed threat of flooding rains and heavy mountain snowfall, making what has already been a damp end to 2022 even more soggy.

Friday morning as the "firehose" of rainfall started to move onshore, its first stop on its eventual journey south through the entire state, steady showers were already pouring across the northern perimeter of the state.

Flood Watches are issued for millions of people throughout the northern, central, and interior regions of California, including the Bay Area and the Sacramento region.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, Central California and the Bay Area will experience late Friday night into early Saturday morning as the atmospheric river directs its wrath on them. Northern California will continue to get the most of the moderate to heavy rain on Friday.

As rain continues to fall for over 36 hours straight, ponding of water on roads, increases on tiny streams and creeks, and burn scar floods will present risks.

On Sunday, steady rains moved south into Southern California as Northern California enjoyed a reprieve, and 2023 got off to a soggy start in the Los Angeles and San Diego regions.

Steady rains were already falling across the northern edge of the state Friday.

In the coastal lowlands of southwestern Oregon into Northern and Central California, storm totals for Friday through Sunday are roughly 2-4 inches of rain, with greater amounts in the hills.

By Saturday night, it's expected to rain around 3-5 inches in the inland regions, including Sacramento, and about 1-2 inches in Southern California on Sunday. Even the drier regions of Arizona, like Phoenix and Tucson, may receive between a half and an inch of rain as a result of the storm.

A foot or more of snow will fall at pass levels and 2 to 5 feet of snow will reach the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada throughout the storm, which could have an impact on travel.

Rain in California transforms to snow in the Rockies.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, rain and snow will expand into the Rockies through Sunday as a result of the atmospheric river's influence on California.

There may be some travel-related effects, particularly during morning and evening journeys.

Winter Storm Warnings have been issued in anticipation of the predicted snowfall of 1-3 feet in the mountains.

Although heavy snow is anticipated in the Wasatch Range, Salt Lake City should continue to see a primarily rainy event with perhaps an inch or two of snow by the conclusion of the weekend.

3 to 5 inches of snow are forecast for Denver, which could make travel challenging over the next two days. According to FOX 31 Denver, a number of spin-outs already hampered the city's Thursday morning commute.

The majority of mountain ranges will be susceptible to avalanches in addition to snow as the weekend approaches.

A dismal dawn to 2023

On Saturday night, the year will change, but the wet weather pattern along the West won't.

Next week, California is expected to experience further storms, roughly one per 48 hours.

According to long-range forecast charts, the numerous storms through the end of the following week could produce 4 to 8 inches of total rainfall across much of California.

Will the drought in California be affected by the atmospheric river?

Some parts of California will have snowfall to start off the new year.

In a region that has been plagued by a protracted drought, the additional several inches of rain that are predicted this week on top of what has already poured this winter are undoubtedly welcome. Every little bit helps, but there is still a long way to go in the area.

According to Andrew Schwartz, principal scientist at the Central Sierra Snow Lab, "we still have another four or five months in our snow season and in our average rainy season." "That implies that even though the game is still in the first quarter, we've already scored the touchdown. There are still three-quarters to go, so a lot is still possible.

According to Schwartz, the winter season last year also got off to a good start with a record-breaking December snowfall in the mountains. But the weather kind of dried out from January through March, so there wasn't as much precipitation as we would have liked.

However, even a typical snowfall season wouldn't be sufficient to end the region's drought.

"We realistically require an additional winter's worth of precipitation at this time, according to Schwartz. Therefore, it won't happen in a year. Before we can seriously discuss ending the drought, we must experience at least three to four above-average months.

The lab receives 30 feet of snow on average each season. An extra snow season would result in 60 feet of accumulation in a single year. That is a very "high task to try to take on," he remarked.