Major flooding from storm prompts evacuation warnings in California | 24CA News

Evacuation warnings have been in place in rural Northern California on New Year’s Day after a robust storm introduced drenching rain or heavy snowfall to a lot of the state, breaching levees, snarling site visitors and shutting main highways.

Major flooding occurred in agricultural areas about 32 kilometres south of Sacramento, the place rivers swelled past their banks and inundated dozens of vehicles alongside State Route 99. Emergency crews rescued motorists on New Year’s Eve into Sunday morning and the freeway remained closed.

Residents of the low-lying communities of Point Pleasant, Glanville Tract and Franklin Pond close to Interstate 5 have been instructed to organize to go away earlier than extra roadways are lower off by rising water and evacuation turns into unimaginable.

“It is expected that the flooding from the Cosumnes River and the Mokelumne River is moving southwest toward I-5 and could reach these areas in the middle of the night,” the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services mentioned on Twitter Sunday afternoon. “Livestock in the affected areas should be moved to higher ground.”

To the north within the state’s capital, crews cleared downed timber from roads and sidewalks as not less than 33,000 prospects have been nonetheless with out energy Sunday, down from greater than 150,000 a day earlier, in line with a Sacramento Municipal Utility District on-line map.

Near Lake Tahoe, dozens of drivers have been rescued on New Year’s Eve alongside Interstate 80 after vehicles spun out within the snow throughout the blizzard, the California Department of Transportation mentioned. The key path to the mountains from the San Francisco Bay Area reopened early Sunday to passenger automobiles with chains.

“The roads are extremely slick so let’s all work together and slow down so we can keep I-80 open,” the California Highway Patrol mentioned on Twitter. Several different highways, together with State Route 50, additionally reopened.

More than 1.2 metres of snow had collected within the excessive Sierra Nevada, and the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area mentioned heavy, moist snow would trigger main delays in chairlift openings. On Saturday, the resort reported quite a few carry closings, citing excessive winds, low visibility and ice.

A so-called atmospheric river storm pulled in a protracted and huge plume of moisture from the Pacific Ocean. Flooding and rock slides closed parts of roads throughout the state.

Rainfall in downtown San Francisco hit 13.87 centimetres on New Year’s Eve, making it the second-wettest day on report, behind a November 1994 deluge, the National Weather Service mentioned. Videos on Twitter confirmed mud-coloured water streaming alongside San Francisco streets, and a staircase in Oakland changed into a veritable waterfall by heavy rains.

In Southern California, a number of individuals have been rescued after floodwaters inundated vehicles in San Bernardino and Orange counties. No main accidents have been reported.

With the area drying out on New Year’s Day and no rainfall anticipated throughout Monday’s Rose Parade in Pasadena, spectators started staking out their spots for the annual floral spectacle.

The rain was welcomed in drought-parched California. The previous three years have been the state’s driest on report — however rather more precipitation is required to make a big distinction.

It was the primary of a number of storms anticipated to roll throughout the state within the span of every week. Saturday’s system was hotter and wetter, whereas storms this week can be colder, mentioned Hannah Chandler-Cooley, a meteorologist on the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

The Sacramento area may obtain a complete of 10 to 13 centimetres of rain over the week, Chandler-Cooley mentioned.

Another spherical of heavy showers was additionally forecast for Southern California on Tuesday or Wednesday, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles-area workplace mentioned.