Snow, rain start California’s new year

Floods, rock slides shut roads in state’s north, but drought remains unabated

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A powerful storm brought drenching rain or heavy snowfall to much of California on Saturday, snarling traffic and closing highways as the state prepared to usher in a new year.

In the high Sierra Nevada, as much as 2 feet of snow could accumulate into today. The National Weather Service in Sacramento warned about hazardous driving conditions.

The so-called atmospheric river storm was pulling in a long and wide plume of moisture from the Pacific Ocean. Flooding and rock slides closed portions of roads across Northern California.

The California Highway Patrol said a section of U.S. 101 — one of the state’s main traffic arteries — was closed indefinitely south of San Francisco because of flooding.

Courtney Carpenter, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacremento, said the storm could drop over an inch of rain in the Sacramento area before moving south.

“We’re seeing a lot of flooding,” Carpenter said.

The Sacramento agency released a map of 24-hour precipitation through Saturday morning, showing a wide range of totals in the region, from less than an inchh in some areas to more than 5 inches in the Sierra foothills.

The Mammoth Mountain Ski Area reported numerous lift closings, citing high winds, low visibility and ice.

The Stockton Police Department posted photos of a flooded railroad underpass and a car that appeared stalled in more than a foot of water.

The rain was welcomed in drought-parched California, but much more precipitation is needed to make a significant difference. The past three years have been California’s driest on record.

A winter storm warning was in effect into today for the upper elevations of the Sierra from south of Yosemite National Park to north of Lake Tahoe, where as much as 5 feet of snow is possible atop the mountains, the National Weather Service said in Reno, Nev.

A flood watch was in effect across much of Northern California through Saturday. Officials warned that rivers and streams could overflow and urged residents to get sandbags ready.

Some rainfall totals in the San Francisco Bay Area topped 4 inches.

The state transportation agency reported numerous road closures.

It was the first of several storms expected to roll across California over the next week. The current system is expected to be warmer and wetter, while next week’s storms will be colder, said Hannah Chandler-Cooley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

The Sacramento region could receive a total of 4 to 5 inches of rain over the span of the week, Chandler-Cooley said.

Avalanche warnings were issued in the backcountry around Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes south of Yosemite.

On the Sierra’s eastern front, flood watches and warnings were issued into the weekend north and south of Reno, Nev., where minor to moderate flooding was forecast along some rivers and streams.

In Southern California, moderate-to-heavy rain was falling Saturday. The region will begin drying out on New Year’s Day, with no rainfall expected during Monday’s Rose Parade in Pasadena.

Another round of heavy showers was forecast for Tuesday or Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Oxnard said.

(AP/Caltrans District 1) State Route 271 is closed on Friday south of Piercy due to an active slide near the McCoy Creek Bridge in Mendocino County, Calif. Californians on Friday were bracing for heavy downpours and potential flooding from a series of rainstorms poised to usher in the new year.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) Traffic drives through flooded lanes on Highway 101 on Saturday in South San Francisco, Calif. A flood watch is in effect across much of Northern California through New Year’s Eve. Officials warned that rivers and streams could overflow and urged residents to get sandbags ready.