After a relatively dry winter in Southern Oregon and Northern California, meteorologists say heavy rain and high winds are expected to hit the region this week. Higher elevations will likely experience heavy snow.
Derek Witt, a meteorologist with Accuweather, says that people should take extra precautions when traveling and stay up-to-date on weather alerts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just good to be aware of any ongoing heavy rain and just keep attune if there are any flood advisories or anything like that that comes out," says Witt. "If you鈥檙e traveling over the mountains, it鈥檚 good to look at the forecast for the passes and consider any snow or icy conditions that may develop there due to colder air.鈥�
Witt expects heavy rain for a day or two at a time for the next week or so. He says although wet winters are normal in this region, the storms aren鈥檛 usually back-to-back like they will be this week.
鈥淲e get into these patterns where it鈥檚 just like a day or two we鈥檒l have wetter weather ,then it dries out for 24 or 36 hours, and then it gets wet again," says Witt. "That鈥檚 sort of just the general pattern as these storms are riding up the jetstreams up into the west coast and it鈥檚 just one right after another.鈥�
Because of a late rainy season, Witt says these storms will be especially good for areas of Northern California that have been in a drought. Parts of the North State may get almost as much rain as they did during the entire month of December.