An ‘endless attack’
Just as a statewide bout of heavy rain began to subside, another low pressure system quickly gained strength on the West Coast and headed toward the state, according to the National Weather Service.
“The endless onslaught of powerful systems with atmospheric rivers of moisture continues to inundate California,” he said.
Moderate to heavy rain was expected across much of California overnight, while several feet of snow was expected across the Sierra Nevada, he said.
Authorities issued immediate evacuation orders Monday for the entire Montecito community, as well as parts of Santa Barbara and other nearby cities amid heightened dangers of flooding and mudslides.
In Montecito, which is home to 10,000 people, Monday’s flooding came five years after heavy rains pummeled a «burn scar» from Montecito, killing nearly two dozen people.
Severe weather also forced the closure of the Santa Barbara airport, the airport announced in a cheep Monday.
«All commercial flights are canceled until further notice and the terminal is closed,» he said. The airport said its reopening «would depend on weather and conditions.»
In Chatsworth, a Los Angeles neighborhood, four people were trapped after two cars were swallowed by a sinkhole that left an entire highway «compromised» Monday night, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. saying.
Two people were able to get out of the sinkhole, while firefighters were able to safely extricate the other two, who were treated and taken to a hospital with minor injuries, he said.
Maria Aldana, a 26-year-old who lives in the Lancaster community in northern Los Angeles County, couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the sidewalks. swallowed by rainwater on Monday night.
Aldana was thankful that she was driving her dad’s truck and not her regular Toyota Corolla.
«As we drove by, we thought, ‘Damn, if we had come in my car, this would have been so much worse,'» he said. «A 2023 Tacoma is very tall.»
Nearly all of California has seen above-average rainfall totals in recent weeks, with totals 400% to 600% above average, according to the weather service.
Climate change has made extreme precipitation in California twice as likely, and extreme weather is forecast to generate 200% to 400% of surface runoff, rainwater that cannot be absorbed into the ground, for agricultural purposes. century, according to research conducted by the University of California at Los Angeles environment and sustainability department
Recent severe weather prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency last week, while President Joe Biden issued a emergency declaration on Sunday to support the response to the storm.
‘Huge cyclone’ to hit Wednesday
Tuesday’s storm system was expected to move inland overnight, bringing widespread mountain snow across the Great Basin, but a «massive cyclone forming off the coast of the North American continent will bring another atmospheric river toward the west coast, this time impacting areas further north from northern California north to the Pacific Northwest coast,» the weather service said.
«When all is said and done, precipitation totals over the next few days will be in the range of 3 to 7 inches across the Southern California Transverse Range, north along the central and coastal ranges. Northern California and through the Sierra,» he said.
The weather service warned that widespread flooding was likely across large swaths of California as far west as Nevada.
Tim Stelloh, helen kwong Y Janhvi Bhojwani contributed.