More rain and snow fell in storm-ravaged California over the weekend, making travel hazardous and prompting new evacuation orders due to flooding concerns along a swollen river near Sacramento. And more is expected in the evening from Sunday to Monday, as another atmospheric river falls into a wet state.
Bands of thunderstorms with gusty winds began Saturday in the north and spread south, with another atmospheric river storm following Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
Up to 2 inches of rain was forecast in the water-saturated Sacramento Valley, where residents of the semi-rural town of Wilton, home to about 5,000 people, were ordered to evacuate as the Cosumn River continued to rise.
Los Angeles had a record rainfall for the date, This is reported by CBS Los Angeleswith 1.82 inches of rain Saturday downtown and 1.53 inches in Los Angeles, the most since 1978.
Another 3 inches of snow and gusty winds are expected in the Sierra Nevada. Interstate 80, a key highway from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe ski resorts, has reopened after being closed most of Saturday due to slick roads, snow and a whiteout.
The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reported Sunday morning that 21.5 inches of snow had fallen in 24 hours. A snowpack of about 10 feet is expected to rise several more feet by Monday.
An avalanche warning was issued for the central Sierra, including the greater Lake Tahoe area, through Monday.
In Los Angeles, authorities rescued a woman from a Laguna Hills creek where she was hanging from a tree, reports CBS Los Angeles, and elsewhere in the city, the tree fell on the parking lotcrushing at least 10 cars.
The California Highway Patrol rescued three people Friday after their car slid off a muddy road and ended up on the edge of a cliff in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The car’s occupants were “in fear for their lives and in disbelief” when they were safely pulled from the car as the front of the car hung precariously over the edge of the cliff, according to the Highway Patrol. statement.
“We cannot stress this enough. Please drive ONLY when necessary,” the statement said.
Just south of Santa Cruz County, the tiny community of Felton Grove along the San Lorenzo River was under an evacuation advisory.
The swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County. To the east, flood warnings were in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Saturday to take stock of the problems and warn of more potential danger.
“We’re not done,” Newsom said. He urged people to be vigilant about safety for a few more days as the last parade of nine atmospheric rivers is expected.
Winter storm warnings and advisories were in effect for Southern California, where mudslides and rocks left many roads impassable. Two northbound lanes of Interstate 5 near Castaic, north of Los Angeles, were closed indefinitely after an embankment collapsed.
A series of storms have lashed California with rain and snow since late December, knocking out power to thousands, swamping roads, unleashing debris flows and triggering landslides.
President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for the state and ordered federal aid to supplement local recovery efforts in affected areas.
There have been at least 19 storm-related deaths and a 5-year-old boy is missing after being swept from his mother’s car by flash floods in San Luis Obispo County.
California is expected to have dry days this week starting Tuesday.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-storms-record-rain-snow-evacuations/
