Friday, February 14

Atmospheric River Brings Rain and Flooding Threat to California

Rain from an atmospheric river was falling in parts of California on Monday, as a new storm began to test the state two weeks after a deadly deluge caused power outages and destructive mudslides.

Flood watches were in effect for millions of people, mostly in California, through Wednesday, as strong winds and heavy rain threatened the state’s central and southern coasts. High winds and thunderstorms were possible in much of the state.

“Soils are pretty sensitive,” said Brian Hurley, a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service, alluding to the soaking that the state has gotten from substantial rainfall in recent weeks. “So that’s why you see a lot of the flood watches out right now.”

Emergency crews have been deployed in 14 counties since Sunday, state officials said, including helicopters and swift water rescue teams. One man who was camping near a creek in El Dorado Hills, east of Sacramento, was rescued from surging floodwaters early Monday, KCRA-TV reported.

The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles said that it expected rainfall totals of two to five inches for much of Southern California, with isolated areas in the mountains and foothills getting as much as 10 inches of rain or, at higher elevations, up to three feet of snow.

There were reports of some flooded roads and mudslides in Santa Barbara. Ventura and Los Angeles counties, and more was possible there and in Los Angeles County during periods of heavy rainfall, the National Weather Service said, adding that there was a high chance of thunderstorms. Damaging winds were possible along the state’s Central Coast.

The airport in Santa Barbara shut down on Monday because of flooding on the airfield. Officials in Santa Barbara County issued an evacuation warning for certain communities over the weekend; the warnings extend through Wednesday.

Communities in Los Angeles County, where comparatively less rain was expected, still faced the risk of mudslides and debris on roads because that area “took the brunt of the last storm,” the Weather Service said. County officials issued an evacuation warning for a hilly area near Topanga on Monday.

Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, implored residents over the weekend to prepare.

Homeowners and workers in the city’s hilly neighborhoods spent Sunday preparing sandbags and laying plastic tarps over muddy hillsides that still bore the scars of the last storm.

Some residents, including Staci Broussard, 58, took care to reinforce their properties soon after that storm ended. Ms. Broussard’s home in Baldwin Hills Estates, a neighborhood overlooking South Los Angeles, was damaged by the previous atmospheric river to rip through the city.

The slope behind Ms. Broussard’s home crumbled, knocking down a portion of her backyard iron fence, bringing mud and vegetation down the hill from her neighbor’s home on a hill above.

Ms. Broussard and her neighbor staked down tarps over the hillside to prevent more mud from sliding down.

“As you can see, we have tarps all over because this is happening all over this neighborhood, unfortunately,” she said on Sunday .

The Weather Service in Los Angeles warned boaters about hazardous sea conditions, suggesting that they remain in port. The storm threatened to erode the coast and damage structures there, officials said.

Farther north, forecasters said that thunderstorms, gusty winds and lightning were possible in the Bay Area on Monday afternoon. The San Francisco Peninsula, which includes the city of San Francisco, was expected to receive up to two and a half inches of rain. The Santa Cruz Mountains and the Big Sur Coast may receive three to five and three to six inches, respectively.

Much of the Sacramento Valley was under a wind advisory through Tuesday morning. The Weather Service in Sacramento said that severe thunderstorms accompanied by “brief tornadoes” were possible in the area on Monday afternoon.

Vik Jolly contributed reporting from California.