Strongest Atmospheric River Yet Slams California With Deadly Impacts
Millions of storm-weary people across California faced another round of life-threatening weather to start the week as an atmospheric river unloaded more than a month’s worth of rain in one day, which sparked flash floods, rock slides and avalanches.
The early-week storm is the latest of a line of storms that have pummeled California since New Year’s Eve. More than a dozen storm-related fatalities have been reported across the state since the end of 2022, which is higher than the death toll from wildfires in California over the past two years.
At least three storm-related deaths were reported from the latest system, including one woman who was killed Monday in Avila Beach, located 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles, after her vehicle was overtaken by water. Two more fatalities were confirmed Tuesday after a large tree fell on two vehicles on Highway 99 near Visalia, California, killing both of the drivers. A 5-year-old boy is also missing after he was swept away by floodwaters Monday near San Miguel, located 130 miles southeast of San Jose.
“Our message to Californians is simple: be hyper-vigilant,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said. “There are still several days of severe winter weather ahead and we need all Californians to be alert and heed the advice of emergency officials.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for California Monday as the newest storm slammed into the state, a move that will allow the federal government to assist with disaster relief and emergency resources across the Golden State.
Santa Cruz, a coastal city about 60 miles south of San Francisco, experienced some of the worst of the flooding on Monday, which prompted mandatory evacuations in flood-prone areas. Downed trees and rockslides made roads impassable with local officials urging residents to stay at home if they weren’t under evacuation orders.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Santa Cruz resident Dianne Dias told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell on Monday. Dias has been a lifelong resident of Santa Cruz and lived through the 1955 flood, an extreme event in which she lost her house.
Dias expressed concern for the unhoused individuals living in the area since many were residing on hillsides where it is not safe to be amid the extreme weather conditions.
“I don’t know where these people are,” Dias said. “It’s like they just disappeared.”
Farther south, an evacuation order was issued for all of Montecito, California, due to the risk of flooding and mudslides. The seaside town is home to A-list celebrities, including Ellen DeGeneres, who captured a video of a creek that “never flows” that was transformed into a raging river. “Stay safe everybody,” DeGeneres added. DeGeneres noted that since her home sits on higher ground, she was told to shelter in place, rather than evacuate.
A two-day rainfall total of 8.07 inches was measured near Montecito, which is more than double the 3.84 inches of rain that typically falls in the area in all of January.
Monday’s extreme flooding occurred on the five-year anniversary of deadly mudslides in Montecito that claimed the lives of 23 individuals and damaged hundreds of homes. The historic mudslide occurred after heavy rain fell on a burn scar from the Thomas Fire, one of the largest wildfires in California history.
Southeast of Montecito in Ventura County, a mudflow slammed into cars on Casitas Vista Road, forcing officials to close the road. Fortunately, no one was injured in the mudslide.
While some of the worst conditions and highest rainfall amounts were reported along the California coast, areas farther inland also experienced heavy rain and bouts of severe weather.
State Route 168 near Fresno was one of many roads that were closed after a rockslide blocked both lanes. A dramatic video from crews at the scene captured massive boulders larger than vehicles careening down a mountainside before coming to rest in the middle of the road.
Californians were jolted awake by weather alerts Monday night as severe thunderstorms rumbled through the Sacramento area. Two tornado warnings were issued south of the state capital, including one tornado warning in Stockton and another in Modesto. These were the first tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service Office in Sacramento since April 21, 2022.
Higher up in the Sierra Nevada, the atmospheric river unloaded feet of snow that shut down mountain passes. Donner Pass remained open to traffic throughout most of the storm, although chains were required during the height of the snow. State Route 88 at Carson Pass, located 17 miles south of Lake Tahoe, was closed not just due to snow, but also due to the risk of avalanches.
One person was killed in an avalanche on Mount Charleston, Nevada, located 30 miles northwest of Las Vegas, on Monday, according to KLAS. The area received nearly a foot of snow from the same system that was walloping California.
Hurricane-force wind gusts were clocked in the higher elevations in California, including a 115-mph wind gust at Mammoth Mountain and a 127-mph wind gust at Palisades-Tahoe.
Winds were not as intense in the lower elevations, but gusts were still strong enough to blow over trees with roots in waterlogged soil. Downed trees contributed to the more than 220,000 power outages across the state on Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us.
AccuWeather meteorologists are forecasting the next system to track farther north than the early-week storm, with the heaviest rain and mountain snow predicted to fall across Northern California and Oregon. This is good news for areas of Central and Southern California that need a much-needed break from the flooding and mudslides, but the pause in precipitation will not last long.
“More precipitation is expected to spread across the majority of California again on Saturday,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Joseph Bauer said.
The weekend storm is likely to cause more flooding and mudslides across the state, including regions that were hit hard Monday and Tuesday.
Produced in association with AccuWeather.
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