Our weather remains extremely active.
From Wednesday night through Thursday we'll continue to see scattered rain and snow showers across Kern.
This means a few additional inches of snow for our mountain communities, with heavy bursts of snow possible.
These strong snow showers can quickly change road conditions, as we saw Wednesday afternoon as highway 58 shut down.
The scattered showers are the last remnants of the first storm of the week.
The second, and stronger, storm will arrive Thursday night and last into Saturday.
We're expecting unusually severe weather weather impacts with the second storm.
In fact, a Blizzard Warning has been issued for the south mountains of Kern, including Tehachapi and Frazier Park, from Thursday night through Friday.
Blizzard conditions occur when snow combines with winds of 35 miles per hour or stronger, leading to a prolonged period of reduced visibility.
True blizzard conditions make driving incredibly difficult, and we expect major issues through our mountain communities Friday and Saturday.
Snow will start up in our mountain communities Thursday night, and last into Friday morning.
By Friday afternoon warmer air looks to move into Kern, raising snow levels.
It's possible that snow levels rise as high as 4,500 feet, which means rain would fall over the passes.
However, as cooler air arrives Friday night snow levels will drop back down, and heavy snow will fall for all of our mountain areas.
Models are showing incredible snow totals with this second system.
At this point I'm going with a conservative 8 to 16 inches at pass level through Saturday.
Areas above 5,000 feet, which should see snow all the way through Thursday night into Saturday, could easily see two feet of snow or more.
While it's difficult to discern just how much snow will fall, the impacts are easy to see.
Snow will cripple travel through our mountain areas by Friday night, and the passes will close.
Be prepared to make alternate travel plans, and avoid travel if at all possible.
Impacts will be significant in the Valley, too.
Heavy rain will arrive late Friday and last into Saturday, with over an inch of rain possible!
