Another powerful bomb cyclone storm on the way for California: Weather updates

Another strong storm system that was evolving into a bomb cyclone Monday will bring flooding rain, powerful winds and heavy snow to much of California this week.

The Golden State was slammed by a similar bomb cyclone last week, which killed two people and resulted in a tornado that damaged buildings and injured people in Southern California.

This week, two separate storms joined forces over the northeastern Pacific Ocean and were set to slam into the state by Monday night, AccuWeather said. The dangerous weather will begin in the northwestern part of California late Monday, and then advance south through central and southern areas into Tuesday and Wednesday.

The storm will then roll into the western and southwestern U.S. amid colder temperatures, spreading snow well inland across portions of the Intermountain West, AccuWeather said.

WHAT IS A BOMB CYCLONE?: A winter hurricane, explained

More heavy rain, snow for California

"A powerful Pacific storm system will begin to approach the West Coast on Monday. Moisture spreading inland will significantly increase precipitation chances across northern California and the Pacific Northwest," the National Weather Service said.

The weather service said the storm will result in moderate to heavy rainfall along the coast.

AccuWeather said the heaviest rainfall will be on Tuesday, and lighter rainfall could linger into Thursday for Southern California. Small hail is also possible later in the week.

The system could also drop several feet of snow in the upper elevations of Northern California’s coastal mountains and the Sierra Nevada, making travel difficult, forecasters said.

In Southern California’s mountains, the storm could drop snow at elevations as low as 2,500 feet and possibly on foothills, forecasters said.

Strong winds could knock out power

Northern California, specifically the Bay Area, will again be susceptible to strong winds, which could leave many residents and businesses in the dark. The Pacific Gas and Electric Co.said roughly 610,000 customers were affected during last week's bomb cyclone.

Wind gusts as high as 100 mph are possible in the mountains, which could lead to "dangerous blizzard conditions," AccuWeather said. The Bay Area could have wind gusts around 50 to 60 mph.

"With an already saturated ground due to recent heavy rain, downed trees and power outages are a real concern," AccuWeather meteorologist Andrew Johnson-Levine said.

Storms in the Southeast

In the Southeast, more severe weather was expected as the region recovers from a flurry of tornadoes that hit the Mississippi Delta region, thrashing rural areas and leaving more than 20 people dead. Flood and tornado watches and warnings were in effect Monday across much of Mississippi and Georgia.

Strong storms produced damage in areas west and south of Atlanta on Sunday, bringing hail to many in the metro area and causing roads to close because of fallen debris. A frontal boundary will be the focus for additional waves of showers and thunderstorms across north and central Georgia on Monday.

Additional rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches were expected, and locally higher amounts of over 3 inches were possible.

Contributing: John Bacon; The Associated Press

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Powerful bomb cyclone storm system to hit California this week