California pummeled with rain, snow
LOS ANGELES — Heavy rain flooded California roadways and much-needed snow piled up in the mountains on Thursday as the first of back-to-back atmospheric rivers pummeled the state.
The storm focused its energy on the southern and eastern parts of the state after initially hitting the San Francisco Bay Area Wednesday, where it halted cable car service. The downpours arrived in Southern California Thursday in time to snarl the morning commute.
An atmospheric river, which is a long band of moisture that forms over the Pacific, was fueling the storms dousing the Los Angeles and San Diego areas Thursday, said National Weather Service forecaster Bob Oravec.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services activated its operations center and positioned personnel and equipment in areas most at risk from the weather.
A winter storm warning was in effect through this morning for a nearly 300-mile stretch of the Sierra Nevada, from north of Lake Tahoe to south of Yosemite National Park, said the weather service office in Reno, Nev.
The second atmospheric river, expected to move in late Saturday, is already predicted to be “the largest storm of the season,” according to the National Weather Service. The worst part of the storm will hit late Sunday into Monday as it stalls over Point Conception in Santa Barbara County.
Significant rain and, at higher elevations, snowfall are then expected to hit Southern California from Monday through Wednesday that could bring mudslides and dangerous flooding.