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California to Four Corners Braces For Big Weekend Weather Problems
March 31, 2024
Updated By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Fred Allen
A one-two weather punch will foster plenty of weather headaches across the West as the calendar flips from March to April.
A pair of weather makers will lead to a soggy, snowy end to the month across much of the West. The first will deliver light to briefly moderate snow across the tallest peaks in the Colorado and Wyoming Rocky Front Range. A second, more intense storm will follow, gliding along the Golden State coast into the Four Corners throughout this weekend before jumping onto the western High southern Plains in time for beginning of April.
Winter Storm Warnings, Winter Weather Advisories, and Winter Storm Watches cover parts of the West, including the Sierra Nevada, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Gabriel, San Diego, and San Bernardino Mountains, as well as parts of the Great Basin and central Rockies in Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, and Arizona.
Three inches to locally a foot of snow will pile up across parts of the Wyoming and Colorado Rocky Front Range through the first half of today, which includes Aspen, Colo. Travel will be difficult, especially when combined with gusts up to 35 to 40 mph blow and drift the snow about, significantly reducing visibility. The tallest peaks above 9,000 feet will rake in the heaviest snow totals during this time.
The main course, the meat and potatoes, will rush inland across California today. Soaking rain accompanied by a few thunderstorms will patrol the beaches and valleys, while flakes will break out across the Sierra Nevada and southern California’s mountains above 4,500 to 6,000 feet. Around a foot of snow has already been reported, with an additional 5 inches or more possible by the end of today.
Snow will spread further inland between tonight and Monday, leaving many parts of the Wasatch Range, Arizona’s northern mountains, and from Wyoming’s Absaroka Ranges to far northern New Mexico’s Rocky Front Range covered under several inches of snow. Totals approaching a foot or more will be found most east of Salt Lake City in the Unita mountains and across western Wyoming. Six inches or more will fall in the Flagstaff, Ariz., metro area and surrounding higher terrain as well.
Meanwhile, Interstates 5, 10, 15, 215, and 405 will be susceptible to impactful flooding across southern California, whether that’s low-lying, poor drainage, urban, or excess runoff from rivers and creeks. A risk for rockslides and mudslides will exist as well. Additional rainfall of a half inch to an inch will keep the threat for flooding though the afternoon today.
Flood Watches stretch across much of southern California. Los Angeles, Anaheim, Ontario, Riverside, and San Diego, Calif., are included. Remember this simple motto if you approach a roadway covered in water, “Turn Around, Don’t Drown!”
Wind Advisories and High Wind Warnings are also in effect from southeastern Arizona to northeastern New Mexico where winds could range from 25 to 45 mph with gusts near 60 mph today. These winds will present a fire danger just east of the mountains today between the Texas Big Bend and eastern Colorado.
It’s never too early to prepare for inclement weather. Simply having an emergency kit equipped with a weather radio, extra batteries, non-perishable food, water, clean clothes and blankets will go a long way in keeping your family safe, warm and protected. Be sure to check the WeatherBug App or your local weather stations to keep informed on the approaching weather.