Flooding, landslides as atmospheric river departs California
LOS ANGELES — Southern California residents weary of a storm-soaked winter were hit Wednesday by parting shots from the season’s 11th atmospheric river, which flooded roadways, caused landslides and toppled trees throughout the state.
Water pooled on roadways in the region, rocks and mud littered others, and there were reports of potholes that disabled numerous cars. Flooding closed several miles of Pacific Coast Highway through Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles on the Orange County coast.
Statewide, more than 168,000 utility customers remained without power early Wednesday, according to poweroutage.us.
California’s latest atmospheric river was one of two storm systems that bookended the U.S. this week. Parts of New England and New York were digging out of a nor’easter Wednesday that caused tens of thousands of power outages, numerous school cancellations and whiteout conditions on roads.
Remaining showers across Southern California were expected to decrease through Wednesday evening as the storm headed toward parts of the Great Basin. The weather service said California will see minor precipitation this weekend, followed by another substantial storm next week.
For downtown Los Angeles, the National Weather Service said just under 2 feet of rain were recorded so far this water year — making this the 14th wettest in more than 140 years of records.
An overnight mudslide onto a road in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles County trapped two cars, KNBC-TV reported. Another hillside in the neighborhood also gave way, threatening the foundation of a hilltop home.
Statewide, about 27,000
people remained under evacuation orders and more than 61,000 were under warnings to be ready to evacuate due to weather impacts, according to the California Office of Emergency Services. Emergency shelters housed 676 people Tuesday night.
Weather in the northern
and central sections of the state had dried out earlier, following Tuesday’s heavy rain and fierce winds that blew out windows on a San Francisco high-rise and gusted to 74 mph at the city’s airport.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued emergency declarations for three more counties on
Tuesday, raising the total to 43 of the state’s 58 counties.
Despite California’s rains winding down, flood warnings remain in effect on the central coast for the Salinas and Pajaro rivers in Monterey County and other rivers in the Central Valley as water runs off land that has been saturated by storms since late December.
Runoff from a powerful atmospheric river last week burst a levee on the Pajaro River, triggering evacuations as water flooded farmland and agricultural communities. Nearly half of the people under evacuation orders were in Monterey County.
The first phase of repairs on the 400-foot levee breach was completed Tuesday afternoon and crews were working to raise the section to full height, county officials said.
California was deep in drought before an unexpected series of atmospheric rivers barreled into the state from late December through mid-January, causing flooding while building a staggering snowpack in the Sierra Nevada.
Storms powered by arctic air followed in February, creating blizzard conditions that buried mountain communities under so much snow that structures began collapsing.
The water content of the Sierra snowpack is now more than 200% of the April 1 average, when it normally peaks, according to the state Department of Water Resources.
Hollywood stars splashed down a rain-soaked red carpet in Los Angeles at Tuesday’s premiere of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” where rainfall totals are double the normal average.
The film’s stars — including Zachary Levi, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler — tiptoed over the saturated rug as they unsuccessfully tried to stay dry.
“My feet are wet,” said Zegler. “I’m a little bit bummed, I’m not gonna lie.”