Forecasts warn of possible winter storms across US during Thanksgiving week

WINDSOR, Calif. (AP) — Forecasters throughout the U.S. issued warnings that another round of winter weather could complicate travel leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, while California and Washington state continue to recover from storm damage and power outages.

In California, where two people were found dead in floodwaters on Saturday, authorities braced for more rain while grappling with flooding and small landslides from a previous storm.

The National Weather Service office in Sacramento, California, issued a winter storm warning for the Sierra Nevada through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected at higher elevations and wind gusts potentially reaching 55 mph (88 kph). Total snowfall of roughly 4 feet (1.2 meters) was forecast, with the heaviest accumulations expected Monday and Tuesday.

The Midwest and Great Lakes regions will see rain and snow Monday and the East Coast will be the most impacted on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, forecasters said.

A low pressure system is forecast to bring rain to the Southeast early Thursday before heading to the Northeast. Areas from Boston to New York could see rain and breezy conditions, with snowfall possible in parts of northern New Hampshire, northern Maine and the Adirondacks. If the system tracks further inland, there could be less snow and more rain in the mountains, forecasters said.

“The system doesn’t look like a powerhouse right now,” Hayden Frank, a meteorologist with the weather service in Massachusetts, said Sunday. “Basically, this is going to bring rain to the I-95 corridor so travelers should prepare for wet weather. Unless the system trends a lot colder, it looks like rain.”

Frank said he isn't seeing any major storm systems arriving for the weekend anywhere in the country so travelers heading home Sunday can expect good driving conditions. Temperatures, however, will get colder in the East while warming up out West.

More rain expected after deadly 'bomb cyclone’ on West Coast

Two people died in the Pacific Northwest after a rapidly intensifying " bomb cyclone " hit the West Coast last Tuesday, bringing fierce winds that toppled trees and power lines and damaged homes and cars. Hundreds of thousands lost electricity in Washington state before powerful gusts and record rains moved into Northern California. About 30,000 people in the Seattle area were still without power on Sunday.

Two bodies were found Saturday in Sonoma County wine country, north of San Francisco, authorities said. Someone walking on a trail near Santa Rosa found the body of a man in a swollen creek, according to the sheriff's department. A few hours later, rescue crews recovered a body inside a vehicle bobbing in floodwaters in nearby Guerneville, Deputy Rob Dillion said. Investigators are trying to determine if the deaths were storm-related.

Santa Rosa saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of rain by Friday evening, the National Weather Service in the San Francisco Bay Area reported. Vineyards in nearby Windsor were flooded.

Forecasters said the risk of flooding and mudslides remained as the region gets more rain starting Sunday. But the latest storm won't be as intense as last week's atmospheric river, a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows over land.

“However, there’s still threats, smaller threats, and not as significant in terms of magnitude, that are still going to exist across the West Coast for the next two or three days,” said weather service forecaster Rich Otto.

As the rain moves east throughout the week, Otto said, there’s a potential for heavy snowfall at higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, as well as portions of Utah and Colorado.

Northeast gets needed precipitation

Into Thanksgiving, parts of the Midwest and East Coast can expect to see heavy rain, and there’s potential for snow in Northeastern states.

A storm last week brought rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. The precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions after an exceptionally dry fall.

“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.

Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Around 35,000 customers in 10 counties were still without power, down from 80,000 a day ago.

In the Catskills region of New York, nearly 10,000 people remained without power on Sunday morning, two days after a storm dumped heavy snow on parts of the region.

Precipitation in West Virginia helped put a dent in the state’s worst drought in at least two decades and boosted ski resorts as they prepare to open their slopes in the weeks ahead.