Push Admin

Drought-hit western US walloped by powerful winter storm

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Residents shovel out following a winter snow storm in Somerville, Massachusetts, US, March 4, 2019. Brian Snyder, Reuters/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/12/28/somerville.jpg"/><figcaption>Residents shovel out following a winter snow storm in Somerville, Massachusetts, US, March 4, 2019. <em>Brian Snyder, Reuters/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>LOS ANGELES—A powerful winter storm battered the western United States Monday, dumping much-needed snow on the drought-parched mountains of California, but causing travel misery over a wide area.</p><p>Three feet (1 meter) of snow had fallen in 24 hours on parts of the Sierra Nevada range, taking December&#x27;s total to a record-breaking 16 feet, and bolstering the badly depleted snowpack that feeds the region&#x27;s reservoirs.</p><p>&quot;We were definitely not expecting a wet winter,&quot; said Dr. Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at the Central Sierra Nevada Snow Laboratory at UC Berkeley, California.</p><p>&quot;It just so happens that we ended up with a lot more snow this year than we expected, which is a pleasant surprise, of course,&quot; Schwartz told AFP.</p><p>The US west has suffered years of pitiful rainfall, leaving vast swaths of the countryside parched and vulnerable to wildfire.</p><p>It is too soon to declare the drought over, said Schwartz, but &quot;it looks like the western United States is getting some help.&quot;</p><p>The immediate impact of the storm was less positive, with tens of thousands of people experiencing electricity outages and roads blocked.</p><p>Pacific Gas and Electric reported power lines had been felled by the fierce weather, with more still to come.</p><p>&quot;Winter storm system forecasted to bring more snow, rain &amp; wind -- electric and vegetation crews have restored service to nearly 50k customers since Christmas morning and are prepared to respond to potential outages ahead,&quot; the utility said on social media.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/12/28/21/us-halves-isolation-guidelines-for-asymptomatic-covid">US halves isolation guidelines for asymptomatic COVID-19</a></li></ul><p>In Seattle, in northern Washington state, heavy snow was causing delays and cancelations for travelers, with airport operators having to remove ice from planes, as the city suffered under plunging temperatures.</p><p>&quot;After a year of unprecedented challenges, Seattle is facing a long duration of dangerously cold temperatures &amp; snow,&quot; tweeted Mayor Jenny Durkan.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;ve declared an emergency to allow Seattle to marshal full resources required to protect residents, provide warm spaces &amp; support our frontline workers.&quot;</p><p>Much of Oregon was also under a winter storm warning, with a further blanketing of snow expected overnight Monday.</p><p>&quot;Snow returns tonight!&quot; tweeted the weather service in Portland, Oregon&#x27;s biggest city.</p><p>&quot;The heaviest snowfall is expected late tonight into early Tuesday morning with 1 to 3 inches for the valley and coast.&quot;</p><p>While the US west was laboring under heavy winter weather, Texas was sweltering in an unseasonably warm spell, with the Christmas Day mercury topping out at a toasty 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) in Rio Grande Village.</p><p>Scientists say human-caused global warming is playing havoc with the climate, making storms more intense and unpredictable, and generating high temperatures in unexpected places.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/12/28/21/biden-covid-19-to-overrun-some-us-hospitals">No ‘panic’, but coronavirus to ‘overrun’ some US hospitals, says Biden</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1875846" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

A powerful winter storm battered the western United States Monday, dumping much-needed snow on the drought-parched mountains of California.