Story highlights
More than 14 million people across Southern California are at risk of extreme, rare Level 4 rainfall.
Road flooding and debris flow damage were reported early Monday morning.
With much of the state already saturated with recent record rainfall, the relentless downpour will continue for an extended period of time.
CNN
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A violent, long-lasting atmospheric river is flowing across California, dumping heavy rain and snow, causing widespread power outages and the possibility of mudslides and life-threatening flooding. Follow the live coverage here. This is what's happening:
• If rare high flood risk persists: Rain fire hoses were put out across Southern California, including Los Angeles, and the high risk of flooding worsened throughout Monday.Heavy rain and “locally catastrophic” flooding is possible in Orange County through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. san diego office.
• Power outages remain high: Strong winds and rain left more than 500,000 customers without power in California, especially along the coast, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us. Most of the power outages are across the northern half of the state, where winds have been gusting up to 160 mph over the past day.
• At least one death was reported. On Sunday, a man in Yuba City, about 60 miles north of Sacramento, was killed by a large sequoia tree that fell as winds of nearly 80 mph battered the area. “Investigation indicates that he may have been attempting to remove the tree from his home using a ladder when the tree fell on him,” the Yuba City Police Department said in a statement. The man's identity has not been released.
• Los Angeles' wettest day in 20 years: Torrential rain dumped an astonishing 4.10 inches of rain on downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. This was the city's wettest day since December 28, 2004, when 5.55 inches of rain fell. February is typically the wettest month of the year in Los Angeles. The average precipitation across downtown is 3.64 inches.
• Risk of rare rain: The National Weather Prediction Center on Monday issued a high risk, or level 4/4, for rare heavy rain for more than 14 million people across Southern California. This includes Downtown Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Long Beach. Widespread totals of 3 to 6 inches of rain are expected in Central and Southern California, with most areas expected to receive more than a month's worth of rain in the coming days.
• Life-threatening landslides and flash flooding are expected. An “extremely dangerous situation” is occurring in the Hollywood Hills area Monday morning. Multiple homes were evacuated in the area and also around the Santa Monica Mountains, the weather service said. “Multiple damaging landslides, flooding roads, flooding vehicles, and flooding of streams and streams continue to occur” in areas including Malibu, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Brentwood and Burbank, the agency said.
• Authorities enforce evacuation orders: Some residents santa barbaraSan Jose, Los Angeles Evacuation orders were issued for Ventura and Ventura counties over the weekend as authorities warned of possible “life-threatening” flooding and mudslides. Officials went door-to-door in Sun Valley, California, on Sunday, issuing evacuation orders, according to CNN affiliate KABC. authorities evacuated residents Roads were flooded with water Sunday in Santa Barbara's Mission Creek neighborhood.
• Storms prevent travel in the mountains. Significant snowfall is expected along the eastern California-Nevada border, with heavy, wet snow spreading across the Sierra Nevada into Monday, with accumulation rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour, the weather service said.Dangerous gusts create whiteout conditions, making travel above 5,000 to 6,000 feet 'almost impossible', Bureau of Meteorology says Said.
• Schools cancel classes and go remote. Several school districts in Santa Barbara County canceled classes Monday due to inclement weather, while others, including California State University, Fullerton, switched to remote learning.
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This atmospheric river, a long, narrow strip of wetland that carries saturated air thousands of miles and releases it like a fire hose, is impacting California this week, but record rainfall has affected much of the state, including Los Angeles. It comes on the heels of another recent storm that flooded the area.
The strongest winds associated with this system have subsided, but gusts of up to 50 mph remain in high-elevation areas of Central and Southern California. A wind advisory is in effect for all of Central California and Orange and San Diego counties Monday morning.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties as the state braced for flooding roads and rising rivers.
Southern California continued to brace for the storm's long-term effects, but stalled as the storm moved toward the coast, resulting in much longer duration of rain compared to previous storms. Californians can expect the worst of the storm's effects through Tuesday, with an increased risk of flooding, the National Weather Service said.
In Los Angeles, authorities urged residents to stay off the streets and stay in their homes if possible, sending a flash flood emergency alert to cellphones Sunday evening and not traveling due to “dangerous and life-threatening conditions.” I called out. All lanes of Interstate 5 were flooded late Sunday night in San Fernando, Los Angeles County. Flash flood warnings have been issued for western and central Los Angeles County, covering about 4 million people.
Further south, the storm system “has the potential to dump significant and unusual amounts of rain on San Diego,” Mayor Todd Gloria said at a news conference Sunday, according to a National Weather Service report.
Ethan Swope/AP
A vehicle passes over fallen branches during a rainstorm in Goleta, California.
Evacuation orders have been issued for low-lying areas of San Diego at risk of flooding, Gloria said. He said 2 to 2.5 inches of rain could fall in the city into Tuesday, with some areas potentially seeing up to 0.5 inches per hour.
“I understand the feeling of being fed up with repeated warnings,” Gloria said. “We know that fatigue is taking hold, but I can assure you that this decision to issue this warning has not been taken lightly.”
Storm danger began to take shape in Ventura County Sunday after police reported flooding on some roads, flooded vehicles, rock and mudslides and rapidly rising river levels, according to the weather service. .
The National Weather Service said “life-threatening landslides and further flash flooding” are expected in the Hollywood Hills area and around the Santa Monica Mountains. The Los Angeles Weather Bureau said widespread rainfall totals exceeded 5 inches in the past 24 hours, with some locations receiving more than 9 inches. A flash flood warning for “particularly dangerous conditions” is in effect for both areas early Monday as the rain continues to fall and up to 3 inches more could fall.
Two homes in the Los Angeles suburb of Studio City were seriously damaged by a debris flow Sunday night, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. According to fire officials, no one was injured, but nine homes were evacuated.
In a separate alert early Monday morning, the department said at least three homes in Encino were affected by the debris flow, but only one was occupied at the time. The ministry added that two people were evacuated and no injuries were reported.
Debris flows are “fast-moving landslides” that destroy objects and can occur during periods of heavy rainfall, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In San Bernardino County, three people were rescued after their car became stuck in a tree while trying to cross a flooded road, the San Bernardino County Fire Department announced. said in X Monday morning.
The department said the vehicle was submerged in “rapid flooding” in the DeVore Heights neighborhood. previous post.
CNN’s Tina Burnside, Nolan Salahie, Alison Chinchar, Caitlin Kaiser, Sarah Tonks and Elisa Raffa contributed to this report.
