California storms: thousands without power as more wind, rain and snow hit - The Guardian US

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Storm-battered California got much wind, rainfall and snowfall connected Saturday, raising flooding concerns, causing powerfulness outages and making question dangerous.

Bands of rainfall and upwind started successful the northbound and dispersed south, with much storms expected to travel into aboriginal adjacent week, the National Weather Service said.

More than 68,000 customers were without energy connected Saturday morning, a fig that was chopped by much than fractional during the afternoon, according to poweroutage.us.

Flood warnings were issued for the portion northbound of San Francisco Bay, including Marin, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

To the south, warnings were posted for counties including San Mateo and Santa Cruz, wherever the tiny assemblage of Felton Grove on the San Lorenzo River was ordered to evacuate. An evacuation bid was besides issued for residents of the Wilton country successful semi agrarian south-eastern Sacramento County. Authorities cited the menace of flooding from the Cosumnes River.

An aerial presumption    of the swollen San Lorenzo River country  including homes
The swollen San Lorenzo River has forced evacuations successful Felton Grove, California. Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters

The swollen Salinas River swamped farmland successful Monterey County, and to the east, flood warnings were successful effect for Merced County successful the cultivation Central Valley, wherever the governor, Gavin Newsom, visited to instrumentality banal of tempest problems.

“The world is that this is conscionable the eighth of what we expect volition beryllium 9 atmospheric rivers – we’re not done,” Newsom said astatine a briefing with section leaders wherever helium urged radical to beryllium vigilant astir information for the adjacent 24 to 48 hours.

“This is happening each crossed California but I privation to accidental … you guys are disproportionately taking the brunt of it, and if you consciousness that mode you’re right,” Newsom said.

Slick roads, snowfall and whiteout conditions plagued highways done the Sierra Nevada.

The Central Sierra Snow Lab astatine UC Berkeley tweeted connected Saturday greeting that it received 21.3in (54cm) of snowfall successful 24 hours and that its snowpack of astir 10ft (3m) was expected to turn respective much feet by Monday.

A backcountry avalanche informing was issued for the cardinal Sierra, including the greater Lake Tahoe area.

We person received 21.3" (54 cm) of #snow successful the past 24 hours and it's inactive coming down hard retired there! The snowpack is DEEP with ~10 feet (3 meters) of snowfall already connected the ground!

We're expecting different 2-3 feet of snowfall by Monday morning, truthful overmuch much to come!#CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/KLL2aOoOpX

— UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) January 14, 2023

A bid of “atmospheric rivers” – agelong streams of moisture that transport h2o vapour from the tropics, aft lukewarm h2o evaporates disconnected the Pacific – person dumped rainfall and snowfall connected California since precocious December, cutting powerfulness to thousands, swamping roads, unleashing debris flows and triggering landslides.

At slightest 19 storm-related deaths person been reported, and a five-year-old lad remained missing aft being swept retired of his mother’s car by flood waters successful San Luis Obispo County.

Half of the deaths person progressive motorists, and immoderate could person been prevented if drivers had heeded roadworthy closure signs, said Sean Duryee, acting commissioner of the California road patrol, during a briefing by authorities and national officials connected Friday.

Dry days are successful adjacent week’s forecast for California starting connected Tuesday.

“Question volition past go bash we enactment adust done the extremity of month?” the San Francisco Bay Area upwind bureau wrote.

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