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Currently — March 29th, 2023

Currently — March 29th, 2023

March 28, 2023

What you need to know, currently.

California has had a brutally wet winter, as the AP put it, “Californians are tired”.

Less than a week after tornadoes devastated parts of the state, heavy rain and snow will continue into Tuesday, as the latest Pacific storm moves inland early Tuesday and sticks around through Wednesday. The northern coastal ranges and the Sierra Nevada are expected to see the most snow, with up to three feet predicted.

Temperatures will remain well below average, with the highs ranging from the 50s to 70s in Southern California. This weather system is also bringing strong, gusty winds of up to 45 miles per hour in Northern California.

Northeast California, the Greater Lake Tahoe Area, and Mono County are all under a winter storm warming, according to the National Weather Service.

“Avoid travel if possible,” the Weather Service in Sacramento warned on Tuesday morning.

Last week, a bomb cyclone made landfall in the San Francisco Bay Area and the state saw its 12th significant atmospheric river of the winter. The death toll from the last weeks storm is up to five and there have been multiple injuries reported.

Some are describing the storm in San Francisco as “hurricane-like” as it had a center similar to an eye, as well as hurricane-force winds.

No, it's not a hurricane! But the rapidly deepening low pressure center just south of San Francisco has developed a remarkably "eye-like" feature near the center of circulation, and is bringing spiraling bands of heavy rain and gusty winds to the region. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/EgJIocHl7M— Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) March 21, 2023

As Currently’s Director of Science, Anthony Torres, notes this was not truly an “eye” or a hurricane.

“This system is by no means tropical since the low-pressure center is primarily driven by the jet stream, but it does have some vague subtropical characteristics,” said Torres.

No matter what you call it, California has seen very damaging winds, heavy rain, and damage to communities this winter and into early spring.

However, it’s not all bad news, the state has seen so much rain and snow over the past few months, that this winter has eased the ongoing megadrought that impacted the region for the past several years. While the wet winter has far from fully resolved the water scarcity issues across most of the West, it is certainly a move in the direction needed.

Additional life saving tips since many are without power to properly heat their homes and there are populations w/o shelter to stay warm. A cold front arrives tonight, expect widespread below normal temps and near record low temps (e.g. Oakland, SF) Friday-Sunday. #CAwx https://t.co/WVAHsppHjK— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) March 23, 2023

—Abbie Veitch and Aarohi Sheth

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