An ‘endless attack’
As an episode of heavy rain began to blow across the state, another low-pressure system strengthened rapidly off the West Coast and headed toward the state, according to the National Weather Service.
“Endless bouts of energetic systems with rivers of atmospheric moisture continue to inundate California,” it said.
Moderate to heavy rain is expected across much of California through the night, while several feet of snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada, it said. The heavy rains are expected to worsen the current floods and continue to pose a risk of flash floods and landslides across the state.
Officials issued immediate evacuation orders Monday for the entire community of Montecito, parts of Santa Barbara and other nearby cities amid high flooding and mudslide risks.
Montecito, a town of 10,000, was flooded on Monday Five years to the day Montecito was hit by the “burnt scar” of heavy rains Killing nearly two dozen people.
Severe weather also forced the closure of Santa Barbara Airport, the airport announced Tweet Monday.
“All commercial flights are canceled until further notice and the terminal is closed,” it said. The airport said its reopening would be “subject to weather and conditions”.
In Chatsworth, Los Angeles, four people were trapped after a two-car sinkhole that “compromised” an entire road Monday night, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. said.
Two drowned people managed to pull themselves out, while firefighters were able to safely rescue the other two, who were treated and taken to hospital with minor injuries, it said.
Maria Aldana, a 26-year-old resident of the north Los Angeles County community of Lancaster, couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the sidewalks. Swallowed by rainwater Monday night.
Aldana was thankful she was driving her dad’s truck and not her usual Toyota Corolla.
“If we had come in my car when we were passing, it would have been a lot worse,” she said. “2023 Tacoma is too much.”
California has been dealing with days of deadly severe weather that have killed at least six people since New Year’s weekend, including a toddler, when a falling redwood tree crushed a mobile home in the state’s north.
Two people killed in storm-related deaths in Sacramento County over the weekend were identified Monday by the county coroner’s office.
The coroner’s office said Rebekah Rohde, 40, and Steven Sorensen, 61, were found in separate homeless shelters after a tree branch fell inside their tents. The cause of death for both was pending.
Almost all of California has seen above-average precipitation totals over the past several weeks, with precipitation totals ranging from 400% to 600% above average, according to the weather service.
Climate change Twice as much precipitation in California has caused 200% to 400% of surface runoff by the end of the century, with extreme weather conditions that create rainwater that cannot be absorbed by the soil, according to research. UCLA Department of Environment and Sustainability.
The recent severe weather prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to issue an announcement Emergency Last week, President Joe Biden released Emergency notification Sunday to support the storm response.
A ‘major cyclone’ will hit on Wednesday
Tuesday’s storm system was expected to push inland in the evening, bringing widespread mountain snow across the Great Basin, but “an enormous hurricane forming well off the coast of the North American continent will bring another atmospheric river toward the West Coast — this time impacting from northern California north to the Pacific Northwest coast.” areas to the north” on Wednesday, the weather service said.
“All told, precipitation totals over the next few days will be in the 3-7 inch range across the cross-border region of southern California and northward across the central to northern California coastal ranges and the Sierra,” it said.
The weather service warned of widespread flooding in western Nevada, California.
Stello Group, Helen Kwong And Jhanvi Bhojwani Contributed.
