Prepare for storm swarm High winds, rain, snow expected to clobber north state for days By Dorothy Korber And Carrie Peyton Dahlberg - dkorber@sacbee.com Last Updated 5:43 am PST Thursday, January 3, 2008Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A12Print | E-Mail | Comments (0)| Digg it | del.icio.us Kelly Myers makes a landing after a jump at Soda Springs on Wednesday. The higher elevations face blizzard warnings Friday night with up to 10 feet of new snow predicted over the next few days. Travelers are advised to stay off the roads during the heavy snowfall and strong winds, which are expected to reach 100 mph in mountain passes. Bryan Patrick / bpatrick@sacbee.com See additional images Batten the hatches – and anything else that's not nailed down – while you can. The first in a potent series of weekend storms is forecast to roll in tonight, bringing gusts of up to 65 mph in Sacramento, 10 feet of new snow to Sierra peaks, and days of hard rain that will swell creeks in the Valley.The California Highway Patrol advises travelers to get out of the mountains by this afternoon – or find a warm, safe place and stay put."Otherwise, be prepared for the absolute worst," said CHP spokeswoman Kelly Baraga. The absolute worst arrives Friday.Locally heavy rain and the strongest winds in a decade are predicted beginning Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. On mountain passes, gusts of up to 100 mph will mix with swirling snow to create whiteout conditions."We have a blizzard warning in effect from 4 a.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Saturday in the mountains," said Karl Swanberg of the weather service's Sacramento office. "These are life-threatening conditions."A third storm is forecast for Saturday into Sunday, but Swanberg said there will be little respite between the systems. "By the end of the weekend in the mountains, there could be locations with 10 feet of snow," Swanberg said. "It will be a dumper."Valley and foothill locations will be doused with 3 to 6 inches of rain by Sunday evening.Urbanites also will face challenges on local roads and in their own backyards, noted Elissa Lynn, senior meteorologist with the state Department of Water Resources.Dubbing herself "weather mom," she offered two bits of advice in her online newsletter Wednesday:"No, don't drive Friday. Really." And, "Take down the outdoor decorations tonight, or early Thursday. Or you'll be picking them out of the trees and neighbors' roof."The stormy weather likely will continue into next week."The amounts of snow will be incredible and winds very, very strong," Lynn said in an interview. "As far as getting us in the right direction waterwise, this is great. Right now, we're at about 60 percent of average for snowpack – by the time we get through this round of storms, we'll be up to normal."Despite their wallop, these storms should be handled easily by the region's major rivers, posing no threat of flooding from the American or Sacramento rivers. The intense rains could briefly overwhelm some small creeks, though, and swamp streets where drains get clogged with debris.After a dry 2006 and a relatively slow start to the rain season, there is plenty of room in reservoirs and river channels to handle whatever these storms can dump on the north state.Further reducing the flood threat, we'll get snow – not rain – at high elevations."The more it snows the less it runs off, so the reservoirs are going to see very modest inflow," said Arthur Hinojosa, chief of the hydrology branch for the state Department of Water Resources.Still, so much runoff will stream into the Sacramento River that forecasters expect it to rise more than 12 feet between Thursday and Sunday at the Verona monitoring station near the northern end of the Natomas basin.But not to worry. The river there will still be 16 feet below flood level.At Rio Vista, the Sacramento River briefly will reach monitor stage, but "for the Delta, it's a fairly minor increase" in water levels, Hinojosa said.This storm's combination of high tides and high winds is less worrisome than the one that sent waves pounding into Delta levees in 2006, said Ron Baldwin, who chairs a five-county Delta flood group.The high tides during this storm will be 3 feet lower than the 2006 high tides, Baldwin said, so the wind gusts likely will send waves pounding into sturdy rock and other riprap, instead of dirt."It's not as bad as we have seen it," said Baldwin, who is San Joaquin County's top emergency officer. But "it's something you don't ignore."Local flood districts will step up patrols on Friday and Saturday when tides are highest, he said.Across the region Wednesday, communities braced for a heavy blow. Utilities held pre-storm meetings. Safety officials warned against driving through standing water. The city of Citrus Heights, laced by streams and antique drainage systems, planned to open four public sand bag sites today.Sacramento County decided against opening sand bag stations for now, said Rick Martinez, director of Sacramento city and county offices of emergency services.The heavy winds worry Martinez even more than the heavy rains. He advised boaters to stay off the Delta and drivers to exercise caution on levee roads.And he urged people to take a hard look around their yards, and secure patio furniture, awnings, garbage cans and anything else that could be swept up by heavy gusts."I've been in 60 mph wind," Martinez said. "… It can move quite a lot."About the writer: Call The Bee's Dorothy Korber, (916) 321-1061.