Damaging winds, heavy rainfall and heavy snow are expected to batter southern California and Oregon through Thursday as several winter storms tore through the US west coast, prompting the Golden State’s governor to declare a state of emergency.
The latest incoming system is expected to send another three to six inches of rain to already-saturated California, where the National Weather Service (NWS) warns of coastal flash floods and mudslides in wildfire-scarred terrain.
“Residents and visitors are advised to check local forecasts before traveling and prepare for potential power outages and/or flooding,” the NWS said.
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Flood concerns
More drenching is expected in northern California on Friday night, leading to additional flooding concerns, the Federal forecast added.
The combination of bomb cyclones – a sudden drop in air pressure – and atmospheric rivers – where moisture-laden air is drawn in from the ocean – led to mandatory evacuation orders in the most populous US states.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency Wednesday, as local authorities issued warnings of threats to life and property for large areas of California, focused around San Francisco and Sacramento.
Bars and restaurants closed in San Francisco as the city shut down due to Wednesday’s storm, with local media showing flooded streets, and reports of public transport delays.
Dozens of flights were canceled, some schools preemptively scrapped classes and about 190,000 customers across the country were without power as of early Thursday morning, according to the PowerOutage.us website.
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Thousands of sandbags were distributed to residents who were afraid of flooding.
“We are very worried,” Deepak Srivastava told CBS in San Francisco.
“(I) just spent the whole day sanding the front of the garage at every entry point and we’re just crossing our fingers and hoping we don’t have any more damage.”
City officials say they are working around the clock.
“We have worked very hard to source sandbags from wherever we can in northern California,” said Rachel Gordon, from the city’s public works department.
But he warned residents to take the storm seriously.
“If you don’t have to go out in San Francisco, don’t go out on the streets.”
– ‘Several storms’ –
The storm comes after near-record rainfall has been stored in recent weeks.
On New Year’s Eve, parts of northern California were hit by storms that caused landslides and power outages, as levees breached and roads flooded.
At least one person is known to have died after being trapped in a submerged car.
San Francisco recorded nearly 5.5 inches (14 centimeters) of rain on December 31, the city’s second wettest day in recorded history.
Waterlogging caused by previous storms will increase this danger, meteorologist Matt Solum told AFP.
“This storm alone without previous storms will cause local flooding concerns and rock and mudslide concerns,” he said.
“But with recent rainfall conditions, much of the rain that has fallen has saturated the ground, so any additional rain will be lost instead of soaking into the ground.”
While it’s hard to draw a straight line to these storms from human-caused climate change, scientists say a warmer planet is bringing more unstable weather, with more violent storms as well as longer, hotter dry spells.
The western United States has been in a decades-long drought, with below-average rainfall raising concerns about river and reservoir levels.
Solum said that while some rain could help ease the drought — a long-term problem — these back-and-forth storms can be devastating because there’s no place for water to go.
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“It’s just the compounding impact of all the storms that will have the most impact,” he said.
“Normally, we don’t see this many series of storms with this much rain.”
And there’s more to come.
“It’s definitely going to continue,” he said.
“We’re expecting another one over the weekend. And then a few more storms potentially for next week. And maybe the week after as well.