Massive West Coast Storm

I know this is not near Kansas City, but the storm forecast to hit the west coast tomorrow is just incredible. I have been looking at some of the advisories coming out for California and the Sierra Nevada's and cannot believe what I am seeing. Several FEET of snow and over 100 MPH winds, in some cases up to 145 MPH. The NWS office in Reno has mentioned the possibility of up to 8" an hour snow rates. This is one heck of a storm. Here is an exert from one of the warnings for the Sierra Nevada:

SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
457 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008

LIGHT SNOW WILL DEVELOP TONIGHT...THEN INCREASE IN INTENSITY BY
FRIDAY MORNING. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL WILL OCCUR FRIDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. BY THE TIME SNOW BEGINS TO DIMINISH SATURDAY..
TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 7 TO 12 FEET ARE LIKELY OVER THE HIGHEST
ELEVATIONS. SNOW LEVELS WILL START OUT AROUND 7000 FEET TONIGHT..
LOWER TO AROUND 6000 FEET FRIDAY...THEN LOWER TO 4500 TO 5000 FEET
SATURDAY.

IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL BUFFET THE
THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING AND CREATE
CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH LOCAL WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS. LOCAL WIND GUSTS OF 100 MPH OR HIGHER ARE LIKELY ALONG
THE SIERRA CREST THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT.

Here is another for the Lake Tahoe area:

GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA-MONO-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SOUTH LAKE TAHOE...TAHOE CITY...
TRUCKEE...MARKLEEVILLE...BRIDGEPORT...COLEVILLE...LEE VINING...
MAMMOTH LAKES...GLENBROOK...INCLINE VILLAGE
916 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008

...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM FRIDAY TO 10 AM
PST SATURDAY...

SNOW COULD BRIEFLY CHANGE TO RAIN BELOW 7000 FEET FRIDAY
AFTERNOON...BEFORE SNOW LEVELS FALL TO BELOW 6000 FEET FRIDAY
EVENING. EXTREMELY HEAVY SNOW WILL OCCUR FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH
SATURDAY MORNING WITH SNOWFALL RATES UP TO 6 INCHES PER HOUR.

TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING WILL BE 3 TO
5 FEET ABOVE 7000 FEET WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS ALONG THE SIERRA
CREST...AND 1 TO 3 FEET BELOW 7000 FEET...INCLUDING THE LAKE
TAHOE BASIN. LARGE AND DEEP SNOW DRIFTS WILL OCCUR DUE TO STRONG
WINDS PRODUCING BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.

STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...WITH THE MOST
DANGEROUS WINDS FROM EARLY FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING.
WIND GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH WILL BE COMMON WITH GUSTS NEAR 145 MPH
OVER THE SIERRA RIDGES. THESE STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH THE
HEAVY SNOW TO BRING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT ALL SIERRA
PASSES...WITH A PERIOD OF BLIZZARD CONDITIONS REACHING LOWER
ELEVATIONS FRIDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY.

Back at home, expect windy conditions tomorrow, with even warmer temperatures. High should reach into the upper 40s, close to 50 tomorrow afternoon. With the southerly winds still howling on Saturday, expect even warmer temperatures, closing in on 60 by Sunday.