Holiday Weather Alert: West Coast Flooding, Heavy Rain, Strong Winds & Sierra Snow

Major West Coast storm impacts continue right into the Christmas holiday. We’re talking flood warnings, strong winds, heavy rain, mountain snow, and dense valley fog. Travel is going to get dicey—LA rain returns, Sierra snow ramps up, and anyone heading to Tahoe or Mammoth around Dec 23–25 will want to watch conditions closely.

An atmospheric river is hitting the Pacific Northwest now, and it sinks south over the next 3–5 days, lining up directly with the holiday travel window. We’ll break down what that means for California highways, airports, ski travel, and storm timing.

As always, we go live on California cameras—from Eureka to Goose Lake, Crescent City, Redding, Fresno, the Grapevine, Los Angeles, and more—so you can visually track the rain and snow in real time.

We’ll look at short-range and long-range models (HRRR, NAM, GFS), precipitable water, jet stream setup, and six-day rainfall totals across the state. Then we wrap it up with surf, quakes, and Nature Snacks.

Buckle up—holiday weather is here.

⏱️ Chapters & Time Codes

00:00 – National weather headlines
01:46 – Satellite: Atmospheric River setup
03:03 – Current radar
03:30 – Rainfall accumulation (CNRFC)
04:19 – Six-day California rainfall forecast
05:19 – NWS West Coast headline page
07:33 – HRRR short-range storm forecast
09:03 – GFS long-range jet stream
10:53 – Atmospheric moisture: precipitable water
12:52 – North American Model – rain forecast
13:24 – GFS California rainfall forecast
15:00 – California Live Cameras: Shasta, Alturas, Crescent City, Redding, Marin, SF, Livermore, Fresno Co., Bakersfield, Point Conception, Los Angeles, more
22:58 – Forecast highs: California
23:15 – National forecast
24:38 – Earthquakes
25:28 – Surf & live coastal cameras
26:52 – Nature Snacks
🌟 Welcome to Bill Martin's Weather Channel! 🌟
I’m Bill Martin, chief meteorologist at KTU Channel 2, the Bay Area's #1 news station, with nearly 35 years of experience in delivering accurate and engaging weather forecasts. With a solid educational foundation, including an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley in climatology and physical geography, along with postgraduate work at San Francisco State in atmospheric science, I am also a proud Certified Broadcast Meteorologist recognized by the American Meteorological Society.
Having grown up in Paradise—the town that faced the heart-wrenching reality of wildfires—I’ve developed a personal connection to the landscape and weather patterns of Northern California. As a fifth-generation Northern Californian with pioneer ancestry, my love for this state runs deep. For over 45 years, I've surfed the stunning California coastline, from Santa Cruz to Ocean Beach, gaining an intricate understanding of how the ocean influences our weather.
But that’s not all—I’m also an avid outdoorsman who enjoys fishing, mountain biking, skiing, and snowboarding. My passion for California's natural beauty and the outdoors enriches my approach to meteorology.
On this channel, I aim to break down complex weather patterns into easy-to-understand insights that empower you to grasp what’s happening in our vibrant California climate. My goal is to guide you in accessing a wealth of free information and resources, enabling you to interpret weather data on your own.
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Bill

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