California weather forecast: 'Pineapple Express' storm likely to bring flood and 4t snow this week

California is bracing for a double whammy of storms that will bring a mix of rain, snow and wind to the state in the next few days.

The first storm will arrive on Wednesday, followed by another one on Sunday. Both storms are driven by atmospheric rivers, which are streams of moist air that originate from the tropics. Weather.com says that this kind of atmospheric river is sometimes known as the “Pineapple Express,” because it comes from near Hawaii.

The National Weather Service (NWS) says that the moisture “will create heavy rain over California.”

AccuWeather predicts..

AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warns that the rain could be so intense that it could cause flooding, mudslides and travel problems across the state. Some mountain areas could get up to four feet of snow, according to the weather service.

Travel troubles expected AccuWeather senior meteorologist Heather Zehr says that the storm will affect travel in many parts of the state from Wednesday to Thursday, as the rain moves southward.

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San Francisco and Sacramento will experience heavy rain on Wednesday, while Los Angeles and San Diego will get the worst of it on Thursday.

The storm will also bring strong winds and high waves to the coast, forecasters say. Flood watches have been issued The weather service says that the rain will trigger flash flooding in some areas, especially in urban areas, roads, small streams, and areas that have been burned by wildfires.

Flood watches have been issued for some parts of central and northern California. Heavy rain impacts The weather service says that the heavy rain will have the following impacts on some parts of central and northern California:

• Rivers, creeks and streams may overflow and flood low-lying and flood-prone areas.
• Flooding may happen in areas with poor drainage and urban areas.
• Debris may block storm drains and ditches. Snow in the mountains While the lower elevations will get rain, the higher elevations will get snow – and a lot of it:

Travelling is not recommended

The weather service office in Hanford, California says that “major to extreme winter storm impacts are expected in the Sierra Nevada above 6,000 feet Wednesday evening through Thursday night due to snow load and snow amounts up to four feet.” The weather service says that “travel could be extremely difficult or nearly impossible,” and advises people not to travel.

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However, Sosnowski says that after the storm passes, “skiers and snowboarders will welcome the snow, and it could be a good weekend to head to the resorts.”

Another storm is on the way

AccuWeather says that another storm will hit California with more rain and snow from Sunday to Monday. Weather.com says that “details are still a bit uncertain, but it will also have the potential to bring flooding rain, landslides and rockslides as well as mountain snow and strong winds.”

The weather service says that the next storm will also affect the Southwest, including Las Vegas, where the Super Bowl week events will start on Monday. The weather service says that since the Allegiant Stadium has a dome, the rain will not affect the game, which is scheduled for the following week.