Northern California rivers swell as new storms roll in - Los Angeles Times

MENLO PARK, Calif. — 

Another successful a bid of almighty wintertime storms unleashed dense rainfall successful Northern California connected Monday, causing wide flooding successful Santa Cruz County and beyond arsenic rivers began to swell crossed the region.

A bid of atmospheric rivers that pummeled coastal communities past week and left much than 400,000 without power successful California connected Sunday volition beryllium followed by 2 large episodes of dense rainfall and upland snowfall successful the adjacent respective days. Several rivers approached flood level, debris flows could beryllium imaginable successful pain areas and almighty winds could wreak havoc from the “energetic and moisture-laden parade of cyclones that are aiming straight for California,” according to the National Weather Service.

In Santa Cruz County, evacuations were underway and large flooding was reported successful Felton Grove and Paradise Park aft the San Lorenzo River roseate implicit its banks and flowed retired into the surrounding community. Videos posted connected societal media showed muddy h2o rising up to halt signs successful Felton Grove arsenic the San Lorenzo River raged adjacent filled with logs and different debris.

With roadways flooded, rescue crews struggled to get into flooded neighborhoods wherever residents reported being trapped successful their homes. The crews launched a pitchy skis to get done water.

The San Lorenzo River crested astatine astir 24 feet soon earlier 8 a.m. and continued to recede arsenic rainfall subsided somewhat crossed the county, according to National Weather Service data.

Flooding and landslides crossed the region made question challenging arsenic radical evacuated. Landslides forced the closure of southbound State Route 17 conscionable southbound of Glenwood Drive and a information of State Route 9, according to the Santa Cruz California Highway Patrol.

“Travel volition beryllium highly difficult, if not impossible, passim the region this morning. We are urging radical to enactment astatine location if possible,” the county wrote connected Twitter.

Evacuation warnings successful Santa Cruz County included towns eastbound and southeast of Santa Cruz, including Soquel, Seacliff, Rio del Mar and Watsonville, which borders the Pajaro River.

The Carmel, Pajaro and Big Sur rivers could scope flood signifier connected Monday, and the Salinas River connected Tuesday. The rising Carmel River prompted officials to contented an evacuation informing on the Carmel Valley.

“This is conscionable the mediate of what has already been a precise bedewed and progressive signifier — and what is expected to beryllium one, really, for astatine slightest different week oregon so,” said Daniel Swain, a clime idiosyncratic astatine UCLA.

The atmospheric stream is benignant of “draped on the Central Coast” with heaviest rainfall from astir Monterey County into Santa Barbara County, though determination are besides dense rains extending southwest and northeast, helium said. One large interest is that the atmospheric stream is going to dilatory down a spot on the Central Coast, bringing instability that whitethorn maximize rainfall rates.

There are besides imaginable convective elements specified arsenic thunderstorms, which are “the kinds of conditions that person a inclination to nutrient important flash flooding and debris flows successful the transverse ranges of Southern California, successful peculiar on the Big Sur coasts,” helium said.

“This is simply a major, perchance life-threatening event, but it also, I don’t deliberation we tin telephone it the catastrophic flood that California has been disquieted about,” helium added. “This is neither arsenic aggravated nor arsenic agelong successful duration nor arsenic wide arsenic the benignant of events that we are talking about, though it surely gives america a sensation of what things look similar arsenic we had a small spot much successful that direction.”

It’s not conscionable the full magnitude of rainfall that matters, but it’s however rapidly it falls, Swain said, noting that “rainfall rates during the tempest — oregon the maximum magnitude of precipitation per hr — person been beauteous high, and that is so wherefore we’re seeing specified important flooding successful immoderate areas.”

He said portions of the Bay Area and Northern California whitethorn adjacent spot immoderate sunshine this afternoon, but it volition beryllium abbreviated lived arsenic different aggravated pulse of beardown winds and dense downpours moves successful Monday evening.

“Don’t beryllium fooled by the sunny breaks successful Northern California aboriginal contiguous — determination is much connected the mode imminently wrong the adjacent 12 hours,” helium said.

Late Sunday, President Biden approved an exigency declaration for California which authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate catastrophe alleviation efforts and supply exigency resources, the White House said successful a statement.

“We expect to spot the worst of it inactive successful beforehand of us,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday. “We’re anticipating precise aggravated upwind coming successful [Monday] and Tuesday morning.”

Newsom warned residents not to “test fate” arsenic the brunt of the latest tempest hits the state, adding that they should adhere to evacuation warnings and perceive to nationalist information officials. A twelve radical person died successful the bid of storms successful the past 10 days, much civilians than person died successful wildfires successful the past 2 years.

“These floods are deadly and person present turned to beryllium much deadly than adjacent the wildfires present successful the authorities of California,” helium said.

Heavy rainfall was already falling implicit the San Francisco Bay Area aboriginal Monday. The portion is expected to spot 3 to 5 inches of rainfall and gusts reaching up to 45 mph from the upwind system. The Sierra Nevada volition apt spot dense snowfall exceeding 6 feet crossed higher elevations done Tuesday night.

“The cumulative effect of successive dense rainfall events volition pb to further instances of flooding. This includes accelerated h2o rises, mudslides, and the imaginable for large stream flooding. Susceptible terrain and areas adjacent caller pain scars volition beryllium astir astatine hazard for debris flows and accelerated runoff,” according to a forecast from the National Weather Service successful the Bay Area.

About 90,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers stay without powerfulness crossed the state. The inferior noted successful a connection that it has much than 4,000 workers responding to the tempest and attempting to reconstruct service.

“In immoderate portions of the work area, precocious winds, flooding, and ungraded instability issues person made it unsafe for crews to work, which whitethorn pb to extended outages for our customers,” the inferior said successful a statement.

As the rainfall continued to determination Monday morning, cars flowed gingerly on the peninsula’s Highway 280, which runs on the San Andreas responsibility done the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Usually a high-speed thoroughfare — wherever postulation seems to cruise astir 80 mph — the fewer drivers who were retired were crawling, taking the occasional hydroplane with care.

Along Woodland Avenue successful Menlo Park, wherever exigency officials warned that the San Francisquito Creek could flood, sandbags were piled precocious on the creek borderline successful segments. Several driveways were besides barricaded.

Creek monitors showed the San Francisquito rising rapidly Monday, approaching flood signifier astatine the Pope Chaucer Bridge, which connects Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

Evacuation warnings oregon orders were besides issued successful parts of Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, Sonoma and Monterey counties, with forecasts suggesting that swollen rivers could flood businesses and homes.

The upwind work Monday issued flash flood warnings for the Dolan occurrence pain scar successful Monterey County, on with portions of Santa Cruz, Watsonville and Scotts Valley. The bureau besides issued flood warnings for the Carmel River astatine Robles Del Rio successful Monterey County and the Russian River successful Guerneville.

San Jose officials were gearing up for what could beryllium the worst flooding to deed the San Francisco Bay Area’s astir populous metropolis since the astonishment flooding successful 2017 of Coyote Creek, which forced much than 14,000 residents retired of their homes.

Water territory officials warned of imaginable flooding successful San Jose astatine the Guadalupe River adjacent the Tamien presumption of the Caltrain commuter obstruction system, affecting the Northern Cross neighborhood, Ross Creek astatine Cherry Avenue southbound of downtown, and Upper Penitencia Creek adjacent the Berryessa/North San Jose BART station.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District connected Sunday issued an “extreme upwind alert.” Flooding is imaginable successful the coming days successful Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Sunnyvale, Morgan Hill and Gilroy.

The Russian River astatine Guerneville could scope flood signifier Tuesday, according to the California Nevada River Forecast Center.

Flooding on immoderate rivers could hap adjacent aft the rainfall stops Tuesday due to the fact that of continuing runoff, said Brayden Murdoch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service successful the Bay Area.

“Some of the peaks are really going to beryllium betwixt systems,” helium said. “But there’s already rather a strain connected immoderate of our main rivers successful the country arsenic good arsenic lagoons and deltas.”

Evacuation warnings were issued downstream of 2 afloat reservoirs successful Santa Clara County: the Uvas Reservoir northwest of Gilroy, whose h2o flows into Uvas Creek; and the Pacheco Reservoir, which empties into Pacheco Creek alongside Highway 152 — a main way betwixt the San Francisco Bay Area and Interstate 5.

Alameda County issued evacuation warnings for the hills eastbound of Hayward and Fremont and westbound of Pleasanton. Sacramento County issued an evacuation bid for the Wilton country on the Cosumnes River, whose waters breached levees implicit New Year’s Eve, sidesplitting 3 motorists whose bodies were recovered successful oregon adjacent submerged cars adjacent Highway 99.

“Already we’ve seen plentifulness of reports of mud connected the roadworthy and downed trees,” Murdoch said. “We’ve had immoderate powerfulness flashes and roadway flooding, particularly successful those areas that person seen that heavier rainfall develop. There’s a batch going connected with this system.”