“Typically we see a surge of monsoon moisture every summer and it varies from year to year, how long the surge is and how strong it is,” said Wendell Hohmann, a forecaster at the weather service’s Reno office. “This year came a bit late. We were pretty dry by mid-July and finally a door opened for him to enter. The storms struck as monsoonal moisture from the desert southwest crept northward into California and Nevada. Video shows debris flowing near Markleeville. A flash flood emergency has been issued for parts of Alpine County. Read more » pic.twitter.com/uZ7OEO6zCl — kcranews (@kcranews) August 4, 2022 A gauge in Markleeville, Alpine County, 30 miles southeast of South Lake Tahoe, recorded 2.49 inches of rain in 90 minutes Wednesday. “It was 2.2 inches in 60 minutes — that’s how intense it was,” Hohmann said. On Thursday, Monitor Pass recorded 0.8 inches of rain Thursday, he said. Debris flows crossed Hot Springs Road, piling up large boulders on the road, Grover Hot Springs State Park officials and the California Highway Patrol said Wednesday.
Highway 89 in the Markleeville area of ​​Alpine County is closed due to severe flooding, Caltrans said. Caltrans The Tamarack Fire burned through the Markleeville area in 2021, and on Wednesday the weather service issued a flash flood emergency for the burn scar, followed by a flash flood warning on Thursday. “This is an extremely dangerous situation! Look higher now,” the weather service said Wednesday. Highway 89 from Turtle Rock to Markleeville is closed pending reopening of mud and debris flows that washed away part of the road, officials said. State Route 4 to Turtle Rock Park is also closed due to a mudslide. The Tahoe area was not hit by heavy rain, but Hohmann said thunderstorms are possible Friday. UPDATEFlash Flood Warning for Tamarack Burn Scar EXTENDED until 5:45 p.m. PDT. Storms continue to bring heavy rainfall to the burn area. Continue to avoid this area. #CAwx #NVwx pic.twitter.com/xwjlZyvFor — NWS Reno (@NWSReno) August 4, 2022 The Reno airport reported 1.22 inches of rain from a strong storm between 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday, the weather service announced. That’s more rain than the airport has seen in the past seven months. “Prior to Wednesday, the airport had only seen 0.74 inches from Jan. 1 through Tuesday,” Homan said. The airport’s official gauge recorded another 0.24 inches Thursday, though Hohmann said another gauge at the south end of the runway had an inch of rain. The weather service issued multiple flash flood watches for the Reno area Wednesday and Thursday, and the Reno Fire Department on Wednesday said some drivers were rescued from flooded roads Wednesday. More storms are forecast for the Reno area Friday, and a flood watch remains in effect. Monsoon refers to a seasonal reversal of wind patterns in an area. The summer monsoon is associated with increased thunderstorm activity. in North America, winds pull moisture from the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico and carry it to the southwestern US The summer monsoon is a typical weather pattern that is most pronounced in the interior southwestern states of Arizona and New Mexico. Sometimes the moisture pushes north into California, the weather service said. When monsoon moisture flows into Northern California, lightning is usually more common in the Sierra Nevada than along the coast due to the mountains’ lack of marine layer and their topography. The air mass is forced up, intensifying the storms, the weather service said.