Most intense atmospheric river storm yet slams California with flooding, high winds - Axios

A car is submerged successful floodwater aft dense rainfall moved done the country connected Jan. 9, successful Windsor, Calif. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The most powerful successful a "relentless parade" of atmospheric rivers is bearing down connected California Tuesday done Wednesday. It has brought with it wide flash flooding, stream flooding, mudslides and staggeringly precocious upland snowfall totals.

The latest: Authorities said they person called disconnected the hunt for a 5-year-old lad who was swept distant successful floodwaters adjacent Paso Robles successful cardinal coastal California, arsenic the decease toll from the barrage of terrible tempest systems accrued to 14, per AP.

Between the lines: The whiplash from a bone-dry to flood-prone authorities is simply a objection of however human-caused clime alteration is accentuating California's people fickle precipitation patterns.

• While flooding, powerfulness outages and landslides endanger Californians successful the near-term, these storms are boosting reservoir levels, severely depleted by the Southwest's megadrought.

By the numbers: An estimated 92,000 customers were without powerfulness connected Monday afternoon.

• Nearly each of California has received rainfall totals 400% to 600% supra mean successful the past respective weeks, the National Weather Service noted successful a forecast discussion.

State of play: President Biden approved California's exigency declaration petition owed to the atmospheric stream storms precocious Sunday. This volition let national assistance to statesman flowing to the state.

• NWS meteorologist Eric Boldt said astatine a press conference with Santa Barbara County officials Monday that parts of the county's upland and foothills areas could spot rainfall totals of astir a foot.
• Due to the ongoing and expected continuation of dense rain, officials ordered an evacuation of the entire town of Montecito successful Santa Barbara County, connected the 5th day of a mudslide that killed 23 radical there, per AP.
• Flash flood warnings were besides issued for Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.
• Evacuation orders person been issued for galore communities successful these 2 counties, including locations on the San Lorenzo River successful Felton, successful Santa Cruz County, which has rapidly climbed to large flood stage.
• In Monterey County, evacuation orders person been issued for immoderate areas on the Arroyo Seco River, the Big Sur River, Pajaro River and Carmel River.
• The California Highway Patrol has reported h2o rescues taking spot successful the Santa Cruz area.

Photo: California Highway Patrol Santa Cruz/Twitter

Threat level: These storms person been causing debris flows and flash flooding successful areas wherever the crushed has been weakened by caller wildfires, with aggregate flood warnings associated with pain scars issued crossed Central California.

• They are besides priming the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains for avalanches.
• Total snowfall done Tuesday is predicted to beryllium upwards of 6 feet for elevations supra 7,000 feet, per the NWS. Some places person already seen 100 inches heap up successful conscionable the past 2 weeks.
• The NWS' Weather Prediction Center notes there's a greater than 50% accidental that flash flood thresholds volition beryllium exceeded crossed a immense expanse of the state, from Sacramento to the hills of Southern California.
• Severe thunderstorms are imaginable overnight Monday into Tuesday from San Francisco to Los Angeles, a rarity for this region. These storms whitethorn incorporate damaging winds, hail and precise dense rainfall that could pb to much flooding.

What we're watching: The flood menace connected Tuesday looks to beryllium centered much successful Southern California, with up to a ft of rainfall falling successful the hills of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

• Downtown LA could spot up to 5 inches of rainfall done Wednesday morning.

What they're saying: "The timing, duration and clip betwixt each of perchance 4 much storms volition beryllium cardinal to however flood impacts amplify, and drought conditions evolve," Michael Anderson, California authorities climatologist with the California Department of Water Resources, told Axios via email.

• "While each idiosyncratic tempest whitethorn not beryllium unusually large, the impacts volition beryllium larger owed to the fig of storms and however rapidly they arrive," helium said.
• Anderson said determination is capable reservoir capableness successful the Sacramento River strategy to sorb the precipitation, but streams and creeks volition rise, and determination volition beryllium higher h2o on the Sacramento.
• "Forecasts for incoming storms amusement accrued impacts to the San Joaquin Valley and Monterey County," Anderson said, noting that the authorities flood operations halfway is intimately monitoring the situation.

Context: The hydrological whiplash from the depths of its worst semipermanent drought successful much than a millennium to flooding demonstrates California's capricious past of precipitation extremes.

• It besides is successful enactment with what studies person been warning astir for years — human-caused clime alteration is amplifying the effects of these extremes, making the adust years drier, and the bedewed periods wetter.
• Climate alteration is besides making the swings wider.
• At the aforesaid time, the information of California's yearly precipitation that comes from atmospheric rivers is expected to summation arsenic the clime warms, according to Julie Kalansky of Scripps' Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes.

What's next: There is nary extremity successful show to these storms done the extremity of the month.

Editor's note: This station has been updated with further developments.

Rebecca Falconer contributed reporting.