Harvey & California

Harvey, what is it like in your area and going forward?

How is this winter moisture affecting you and are you at risk for flooding?

I see reports of incredible snowfall in the mountains. Is this a blessing or a curse? How is it affecting the trucking industry?

Hi Bruce, thanks for asking and your concern. We just got back from another trip to Madeira, Portugal where the weather was very nice to some strong winds and heavy rain. Not fun. Our near-term flood risk is not significant. We have forecasted river levels on Tuesday that will briefly reach the flood monitor stage but at levels lower than we had in January. But we have a huge amount of snow in the mountains and significant warm storms can quickly change things and cause widespread flooding. Rains are forecast for most of the remainder of the month. The official drought monitor office still said 73% of the state was in a drought as of last Thursday and that our area was "abnormally dry" which is absurd. There is some expectation for a high ridge forming over California after we get past March. Years ago a drought buster series of storm were dubbed a "miracle march" and this is year has been even wetter.

I feel for you guys out there that need to drive through this stuff. Michael had to deal with some ice in Utah about a week ago but was been routed through Las Vegas for the past two weeks to make it back to California.

All of this rain has lead to some significant road damage. A local highway is in bad shape and some locals post that they wish that trucks would be prohibited from using it so the road stays in better shape but they don't offer solutions on how they will get all of their essential items to keep happy.

Ive been in the thick of it lately, as our load "lack of" planning department seems to be fond of doling out loads into the stormiest of areas they can find. US 395, US 6, US 95, US 50 in CA and NV have all been closed in various spots due to flooding, mudslides and rockslides at various times. Donner pass has been extremely erratic, going from multiple feet of snow to flooding back to snow, Chains on, off, and "were not sure".

I sat in Bishop CA for a day as 395 north was closed for days due to snow, adverse conditions and flooding. 395 south and associated state routes were closed due to flooding shortly thereafter and continue to be intermittently. Then US 6 was closed out of Bishop, its been reopened and closed several times as well. Further up (was going from SoCal to Reno) US 95 was closed north of Hawthorne NV, I had to double back and take NV 361 to us 50 to 80. All in all, a very frustrating experience.