Dec 13, 2014

West Coast Storm


A storm which affected the West Coast from Wednesday, Dec 10 through Friday, Dec 12 hit California with 14.48" of rain (Whiskeytown), 19.8" of snow (Lodgepole), and a 139 mph wind gust (Benton). Numerous other locations reported very heavy rainfall and 100+ mph winds. From the Weather Prediction Center's storm summary:

...SELECTED STORM TOTAL RAINFALL IN INCHES FROM 900 AM PST WED DEC
10 THROUGH 600 PM PST FRI DEC 12...

...CALIFORNIA...
WHISKEYTOWN 1 SSW                    14.48                    
LAKESHORE SHASTA CO                  11.24                    
HAWKEYE                              11.22                    
BOGGS MOUNTAIN RAWS                  10.24                    
PESCADERO                             9.70                    
GIRARD                                9.64                    
MT. SAINT HELENA                      9.06                    
BOULDER CREEK 9 WNW                   8.89                    
SHASTA DAM                            8.88                    
WHISPERING PINES                      8.76                    
MINERAL                               8.47                    
BIG SUR RAWS                          8.31                    
STIRLING CITY                         8.27                    
YORKVILLE                             7.52                    
SAN MARCOS PASS                       5.23                    
LOS PRIETOS                           4.31                    
SAN FRANCISCO 2 SSW                   4.28                    
LYTLE CREEK RAWS                      3.93                    
ORO GRANDE                            3.73                    
MONTERY NWS                           3.54                    
LAKE ARROWHEAD NW                     3.49                    
SAN FRANCISCO DOWNTOWN                3.46                    
PASADENA                              3.43                    
SAN JOSE ARPT                         3.39                    
SACRAMENTO 2 SE                       3.33                    
OAKLAND ARPT                          3.22                    
SANTIAGO PEAK                         3.00                    
BEVERLY HILLS                         1.91                    
LA DOWNTOWN                           1.58                    
SANTA ANA                             1.58                    

...OREGON...
GOLD BEACH                            2.78                    
SELMA 5 NNE                           2.53                    
OBRIEN 2 SSW                          2.14                    
MERLIN 2 W                            2.11                    
LEES CAMP                             1.90                    
FLORENCE 2 NW                         1.45                    
HASKINS DAM                           1.20                    
DALLAS                                1.11                    

...SELECTED STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL IN INCHES FROM 900 AM PST WED DEC
10 THROUGH 600 PM PST FRI DEC 12...

...CALIFORNIA...
LODGEPOLE 9 N                        19.8                    
DONNER SUMMIT                        19.0                    
SODA SPRINGS 3 ENE                   19.0                    
CARSON PASS                          16.0                    
SQUAW VALLEY                         16.0                    
BLUE CANYON                          14.8                    
ALPINE MEADOWS                       14.0                    
DEVILS POSTPILE 7 NNW                14.0                    
KINGVALE                             13.0                    
KIRKWOOD MEADOWS 1 SE                13.0                    
LAKE WISHON 4 ENE                    10.5                    
MANZANIA LAKE 1 WNW                  10.0                    
KINGVALE 1 W                          9.0                    
BIG BEAR RESORT                       8.0                    
FAWNSKIN                              6.5                    
BASS LAKE 11 E                        5.8                    
TWAIN 6 S                             4.0                    
FLORENCE LAKE 7 WNW                   3.0                    
OAKHURST 8 N                          2.5                    
YOSEMITE VALLEY 1 NNE                 0.7                    

...SELECTED PEAK WIND GUSTS IN MILES PER HOUR EARLIER IN THE
EVENT...

...CALIFORNIA...
SODA SPRINGS 4 SE                    135                    
WHITE MOUNTAIN PEAK NE               113                    
INCLINE VILLAGE 6 NE                 112                    
MAMMOTH LAKES 3 W                    111                    
ALPINE MEADOWS 1 SW                  109                    
GRAPEVINE 3 SSE                      105                    
SIERRAVILLE 5 SSE                     74                    
KEENE 7 SW                            71                    
MT. DIABLO                            68                    
WOODACRE                              63                    
GASQUET 12 SE                         62                    
WEITCHPEC 11 WSW                      60                    
PETROLIA 4 S                          58                    
CRESCENT CITY 1 ESE                   53                    
KNEELAND                              50                    

...NEVADA...
BENTON 4 E                           139                    
BLUE EAGLE RANCH 11 SSE               96                    
GARDNERVILLE 5 WSW                    93                    
GALENA E                              82                    
GREAT BASIN NATION 3 WNW              78                    
CARSON CITY 3 ENE                     76                    
RENO 4 SE                             70                    
SPANISH SPRINGS AIR 3 W               66                    
VERDI 4 E                             63                    
EUREKA AIRPORT                        60                    

...OREGON...
RUCH 12 S                            117                    
SQUAW PEAK                           117                    
CAYUSE 1 WNW                          95                    
MILTON-FREEWATER 11 ENE               91                    
MT HEBO                               90                    
MT. HEBO                              90                    
PORT ORFORD 5 SE                      90                    
TILLAMOOK 15 ESE                      90                    
SEA LION CAVES                        89                    
MARYS PEAK                            88                    
BROOKINGS 1 SE                        81                    
NEWPORT SOUTH JETTY                   79                    
KOOSKOOSKIE 3 WSW                     78                    
SPRAGUE RIVER 12 NNW                  76                    
PENDLETON 10 SE                       75                    
SUTHERLIN 7 ESE                       75                    
YACHAT NNW                            75                    
ASHLAND 1 ENE                         74                    
PORTLAND ARPT                         67                    

...WASHINGTON...
NASELLE                               77                    
PORT TOWNSEND 3 E                     70                    
DIXIE                                 64                    
WALLA WALLA                           63                    
CAMANO 2 SSE                          61                    
WAITSBURG                             61                    
FREELAND 2 SSE                        59                    
PORT TOWNSEND 1 SE                    59                    
MCCHORD AFB                           58                    
BANKS                                 56                    
VANCOUVER LAKE 2 NNE                  55                    

At Buoy 46015 - 15 nautical miles west of Port Orford, OR (near Medford) - wave heights reached 31.5 feet:
Waves were as high as 15.7 feet as far south as buoy 46047 - 121 nautical miles west of San Diego.

This storm knocked out power to at least 113,000 customers, produced damaging mudslides including this one at Camarillo Springs, and even produced an EF0 tornado in South Los Angeles.

Dec 9, 2014

941 MB North Atlantic Storm


On December 9th at 6Z, a storm in the north Atlantic reached a minimum pressure of 941 mb. Buoy 64045 is located about 1/3 of the way from Ireland to Iceland. It reported 45.9 foot waves just two hours ago:
ASCAT data indicates that winds were 60 knots just southwest of Iceland: