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Rain-soaked Californians braced for another wave of storms over the weekend that threaten more flooding, landslides and heavy mountain snow.
The stormy weather comes as recovery efforts continue in the state, which has been ravaged by atmospheric river storms since late December, killing at least 19 people.
Forecasts show that rural areas in Northern California will be hit particularly hard by precipitation this weekend. Past storms have damaged the densely populated San Francisco Bay area and surrounding coastal communities.
An atmospheric river, called “rivers in the sky,” forms when a line of warm, moist air, usually drawn from nearby islands across the Pacific Ocean to the west coast, falls as heavy rain as it reaches cooler air overland .
Additional moisture surges are expected to be even stronger than in recent days, and rain and snow are predicted to fall over parts of California again this weekend and next week.
“I know how tired you all are,” Governor Gavin Newsom said Friday, urging caution ahead of incoming storms. “Just maintain a little more vigilance over the course of the next weekend.”
The atmospheric storm forecast for the weekend in California
The storm is expected to peak Saturday as it moves inland throughout the day, according to the National Weather Service.
- More flood risk: With the ground already saturated from previous rainfall, more flooding and possible landslides are expected in the state through Monday, the weather service reports.
- Heavy snow: It is also predicted that heavy mountain snow of 3 to 6 feet and high winds will create whiteout conditions in the mountains of northern and central California, making travel nearly impossible. Snow could fall at 3 inches per hour in the Sierra Nevada on Saturday, according to the weather service.
- Strong wind: Wind advisories are also in effect Saturday off the coast of California and the Central Valley with sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 50 mph.
- Blackouts: Stormy weather could cause more trees to fall and more power outages on Saturday, said David Lawrence, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. More than 10,000 homes in the state were still without power Saturday morning, according to poweroutage.us.
Another atmospheric river is expected to reach the state on Monday.
“People will get complacent, but the ground is saturated. It’s extremely, extremely dangerous,” Nancy Ward, the governor’s director of emergency services, said at a Friday news conference. “And that water may continue to rise long after the storms pass.”
Damage estimates in California are expected to exceed $1 billion
Officials have already begun estimating the damage, which is already expected to exceed $1 billion.
While heavy rains, mudslides and hurricane-force winds have toppled the state, California has seen homes flooded, roofs torn off homes, levees breached, cars flooded and trees uprooted.
About 14 million gallons of sewage spilled into Southern California’s Ventura River as a result of the storms, according to Ventura County health officials. Two sewer lines also leaked in San Antonio Creek this week due to storm damage.
California, long ravaged by drought, has averaged more than nine inches of rain per day for the past 18 days. Some parts of the state have already reached their average annual rainfall, Lawrence said.
President Joe Biden issued an emergency declaration on Monday to support storm response in more than a dozen counties. But Newsom has said he is still waiting for Biden to issue a major disaster declaration that would raise more resources.
Recovery efforts continue after tornadoes swept through Alabama, Georgia
Recovery efforts continued into the weekend after numerous tornadoes swept through the South, killing at least nine people in Alabama and Georgia.
Residents recovered belongings on Friday and rescue teams searched for survivors among the rubble, sometimes digging into collapsed homes to free trapped residents.
Thursday’s massive storm system toppled mobile homes, uprooted trees, collapsed buildings, snapped power poles and derailed a freight train.
Tornado damage was reported in at least 14 counties in Alabama and 14 in Georgia, according to the National Weather Service. At least 35 possible tornado touchdowns were reported in the Southeast, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said.
Meteorologists say it could take days to fully understand the strength of the storm.
Those killed in the storm included a Georgia Department of Transportation employee and a 5-year-old child who was riding in a vehicle that was hit by a falling tree in Georgia, officials said.
Dig deeper: more flood coverage
Contributing: Marty Roney, Montgomery Advertiser; The The Bharat Express News
Contact Christine Fernando at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
