[ad_1]
Rainfall in Southern California has already smashed records since the relentless atmospheric river storm barreled into the region and parked itself over the Los Angeles Basin, causing flooding and mudslides — some of which ruined homes and forced evacuations.
And it’s not over yet.
Forecasters are warning of heavy precipitation continuing through Tuesday morning, with a widespread flood advisory still in effect and showers lingering through at least late Wednesday.
“For the Los Angeles area, we are going to see some more breaks today in the rain — something we haven’t seen since Sunday morning — but it’s still going to be raining,” Ryan Kittell, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard, said early Tuesday.
The atmospheric river has also taken a deadly toll across the state, contributing to the deaths of at least three people in Northern California who were killed by falling trees, according to Brian Ferguson, spokesperson for the governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
Chad Ensey, 41, of Carmichael, in Sacramento County, suffered blunt-force trauma and died at a hospital after a tree fell on him in his backyard amid strong winds. In the rural Santa Cruz County community of Boulder Creek, Robert Brainard III, 45, was killed when a tree fell on his home. And in Sutter County, 82-year-old David Gomes was found dead beneath a fallen redwood tree in his backyard, authorities said.
Chances for more downed trees, as well as mudslides, road flooding and power outages are increasing as the storm continues to dump rain on an already water-logged region. Since late Monday, an additional half-inch to 1.5 inches of rain has fallen across the L.A. area, pushing tallies to what is normally seen over an entire year.
By early Tuesday, rain totals in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains had topped 12 inches in some areas, including Bel-Air (12.29 inches), Sherman Oaks (12.39 inches), Lytle Creek (12.22) and the Cogswell Reservoir north of Monrovia (12.36), according to the National Weather Service’s latest counts.
A flash flood warning was newly issued Tuesday morning for northwestern Orange County, including Anaheim, Irvine and Huntington Beach, and for a swath of western Los Angeles County, including the Hollywood Hills, Griffith Park, Beverly Hills, Malibu and across the Santa Monica Mountains, as well as for a portion of southeastern Ventura County, as more moderate to heavy rain is again drenching the area.
Rainfall totals in the Santa Monica Mountains, largely considered the hardest hit by the storm, have averaged 7 to 11 inches since Sunday, with local amounts surpassing 12 inches, according to the weather service. In Orange County, urban areas have already reported 2 to 5 inches of rain.
“Flash flooding, mud and debris flows, and landslide and rock slides have occurred in this area, and should continue through at least mid-morning,” the new warning for Orange County said.
The rainfall has been record-smashing across Southern California, with nearly half the average seasonal rainfall falling in just two days, on Sunday and Monday, officials said.
“Rainfall in downtown Los Angeles on the 4th and the 5th [of February] totaled 7.03 inches,” an analysis from the National Weather Service said. “That is the third wettest consecutive two-day total since official weather records began in 1877 … and the highest two-day rainfall total for the month of February.”
The massive amount of rain, along with its affiliated threats, prompted officials to order the evacuation of some foothill communities, especially in the Santa Monica Mountains. Orange County officials issued evacuation warnings for some Santa Ana foothill communities late Monday. Residents are urged to avoid traveling on canyon roads.
As of late Monday, Los Angeles authorities had responded to more than 300 mudslides, with 35 homes or buildings damaged by debris flows, including five that were deemed unsafe to enter.
The San Diego River at Fashion Valley is again forecast to overflow its banks, with the latest projections from the California Nevada River Forecast Center showing it peaking early Tuesday. Weather officials expect flooding around the river, near Fashion Valley mall.
[ad_2]
Source link
