After a tragic and deadly Christmas Eve in California, where rescues and evacuations were carried out amid widespread flooding and threats of debris flows, another storm hit the state on Christmas Day, with more storms expected into Friday.
Already early Christmas morning, a series of severe thunderstorms moved into Northern California with wind gusts exceeding 110 mph, causing flash flooding in the San Francisco metro.
Much of Southern California, including Los Angeles, is under a “moderate” level 3/4 risk of heavy rain, with several more inches of rain expected in the mountains north of the city and another 2 to 4 inches in the city. Flooding is possible in urban areas from Christmas Day into the evening.
Wednesday’s powerful storm dumped more than 5 to 10 inches of rain in Southern California’s mountains, and 2 to 5 inches in lower elevations. Rainfall on Thursday and Friday will be less than what fell on Christmas Eve, but fresh rain could cause flooding as the ground is already saturated.
Landslides, rockslides and debris flows will again be a threat on Christmas Day, especially in areas still scarred by recent wildfires. The scorched ground in these scars repels water rather than absorbing it, quickly turning rain into floods and pulling mud and debris along with them.
“Once the precipitation occurs, it will quickly turn into runoff,” the National Weather Service forecast office in Los Angeles said during a forecast discussion early Thursday morning.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Shasta counties to mobilize resources. The city of Los Angeles also declared a local state of emergency Wednesday night to ensure departments “have the resources they need for the coming days,” Mayor Karen Bass said.
Here’s the latest information:
Flood rain risk continues: About 15 million people in parts of Southern California were in the moderate risk zone on Christmas Day, according to the Weather Prediction Center. This includes Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, and Santa Barbara County. The center called this a “best-in-class” moderate risk outlook, indicating a significant threat of further flooding from heavy rains. More than a dozen flash flood warnings were issued in Southern California on Wednesday, with parts of the region under flood warnings through early Christmas Day.
Severe thunderstorms hit San Francisco: A flash flood warning was issued for the San Francisco Bay area as an unusually strong thunderstorm with damaging winds and torrential rain moved through the area Thursday morning. Wind gusts of 113 mph were recorded at San Francisco International Airport. San Francisco emergency officials are “monitoring the impact across the city,” Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Jackie Thornhill told CNN. She said they have received reports of fallen trees and flooding “with significant impacts to roads and potential impacts to homes.” More thunderstorms are forecast to impact the region later in the day after Christmas, and as the storms intensify, damaging wind gusts and short-lived tornadoes are possible.
2 killed in weather-related crash: A driver was killed in a crash on a wet road in south Sacramento, the State Highway Patrol told CNN. “The accident is still under investigation, but it appears the vehicle was traveling at an dangerous speed on a wet road and lost control,” the agency said in a statement.The vehicle collided with a metal utility pole. It was raining heavily at 5 a.m., and light rain was still falling in the area at the time of the accident. A 61-year-old man died Wednesday in San Diego when a large section of a tree fell on him. According to Capt. Jason Shanley of the San Diego Fire Department, high winds were blowing in the area at the time.
Mountain resort area rescue: Emergency crews rescued people from flooded cars and homes in the Wrightwood area of the San Gabriel Mountains, about 130 miles northeast of Los Angeles, amid dangerous flooding and debris flows. Some residents had to be rescued from the roof by helicopter, fire officials told CNN, but they did not yet know how many people were rescued, citing the “very dynamic” situation. According to the San Bernardino County Fire Department, approximately 120 emergency personnel continued to assist residents throughout the night.
Widespread power outages: According to poweroutage.us, more than 165,000 homes and businesses were left in total darkness early Christmas morning.
Chain restrictions are in effect on Interstate 80. The snow side of this storm is expected to intensify in the Sierra Nevada, with several feet of accumulation expected. Chain controls are in place on Interstate 80, requiring chains or traction devices on all vehicles except four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicles with snow tread tires.
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‘Dangerous scenario’ unfolding in California due to powerful storms, CNN reports on the spot
Atmospheric rivers are encircling California, prompting evacuations due to the risk of life-threatening flooding and debris flows. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1080″ width=”1920″load=’lazy’/>
Overall, precipitation totals in Southern California by the end of the week could reach 4 to 7 inches in coastal and valley areas, and 6 to 14 inches in the foothills and mountains.
To put these totals into perspective, a city like Los Angeles can receive anywhere from two months to almost half a year’s worth of rain in just one week.
Los Angeles has already seen typical rainfall for December after Wednesday’s storm.
Several feet of snow has fallen in the Sierra Nevada, making travel there difficult or impossible at times, a situation that will continue into Friday. This includes Interstate 80 through Donner Pass.
The heavy snowfall is causing weather whiplash in a region that started the season with significantly less snow than usual.
This persistent storm pattern finally looks like some relief will come next weekend.
