California is bracing for an atmospheric river that could cause more flooding
The West Coast braced for more flooding on Sunday as heavy rain from an atmospheric river was forecast to spread across California starting Sunday, in the latest round of storms to hit the state this month.
A milder storm moved across California's northern and central coast Saturday night, kicking off a period of rain for the nation's most populous state. Forecasters said it was a precursor to a stronger system on Sunday, which was expected to bring most of the precipitation.
“Sunday evening and Monday alone, we'll see areas of two to six inches of rain along the coast south of the Bay Area all the way to Santa Barbara,” said Brian Hurley, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
More than 37 million people across the country were under flood watch on Sunday. Most were in California, where the watch was in effect through Wednesday, according to the Weather Service.
Atmospheric river is the name given to the narrow bands of moisture blown over the west coast by Pacific winds. They are the cause of California's heaviest rains and floods.
“Weather conditions will vary drastically from Sunday morning to Sunday evening,” The weather service said this on Sunday. “A heavy storm is coming today. It will start to rain around noon and will remain heavy throughout the night. Moderate to major impacts from this storm will continue through Monday with heavy rain, high winds, high surf, thunderstorms and flooding potential.”
While the system was largely expected to be a rainmaker even in mountain communities, Mr. Hurley said, some areas above 7,000 feet, such as Mammoth Mountain in the Sierra Nevada, could get more than four feet of snow.
The California Office of Emergency Services said Saturday that it had deployed emergency responders, including two rapid water rescue teams, to six counties ahead of the storm.
Bay Area cities, including San Francisco and San Jose, were expected to receive this aid between one and two centimeters according to the San Francisco Bay Area Weather Service office.
The system may bring hail, thunder and gusty winds 30 to 45 miles per hour to parts of the Bay Area and the Central Coast on Sunday, the Weather Service said.
Further south, the risk of flooding was high in the coastal communities of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, northwest of Los Angeles.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said the region can expect five to five inches of rain, with up to eight inches of rain in the mountains, accompanied by damaging wind gusts of 40 to 60 km/hour at higher altitudes and elsewhere at speeds of 20 to 40 mph.
Santa Barbara County officials issued an evacuation warning on Saturday for some areas. The warning, which was in effect until Wednesday, implored residents to leave as soon as possible.
The city of Santa Barbara said so would offer free emergency parking on a plot in the city center for residents in flood-prone areas.
An inch to two inches of rain was forecast to fall in Los Angeles Monday evening through Tuesday, Mr. Hurley said.
Although rainfall in Los Angeles was not expected to reach the levels of the destructive storm that hit the city two weeks ago, Mr Hurley said the loosened ground caused by that storm meant the area was not in the “best position” to absorb water. heavy precipitation.