US storms: Extreme weather brings misery to California

California is braced for much dense rainfall aft being lashed by a relentless bid of storms and downpours that person caused decease and demolition crossed the state.

More utmost upwind is expected to rotation successful from the Pacific aft weeks of precocious winds, floods and landslides that person devastated neighbourhoods - from towns to agrarian communities similar Chualar successful Monterey County.

Storms person lashed coastal cities specified arsenic Santa Cruz and San Francisco, opening sinkholes successful roads and cutting powerfulness to thousands of homes.

The Central Valley towns of Planada and Merced were deed by wide flooding, forcing immoderate radical to permission their homes.

Between 26 December and 9 January, parts of California saw up to six times much rainfall than usual, according to the National Weather Service.

In the past week, immoderate areas of Santa Barbara received much than 410mm (16 inches) of rainfall successful 2 days.

Forecasters accidental galore of the aforesaid areas of the authorities tin expect up to 200mm (8 inches) of rainfall successful the coming 5 days.

Some of the rainfall volition autumn connected crushed which is heavy saturated, causing much flooding.

The rainfall has raised the h2o level successful rivers crossed the state. Among those starting to flood is the Salinas River successful Monterey County.

Many low-lying areas on the Salinas River Valley are nether evacuation orders "until further notice".

Local officials are informing that flooding whitethorn chopped disconnected the Monterey Peninsula from the remainder of the state.

"Northern California has been hammered with dense precipitation events implicit the past mates weeks, and immoderate further rainfall could airs a menace of flash flooding," the National Weather Service said.

Driving immoderate of the rainfall are upwind phenomena called atmospheric rivers - h2o vapour evaporating from the water and carried on by the upwind similar a stream successful the sky.

As it reaches higher ground, the moisture is released arsenic rainfall oregon snow.

Although these rainfall rivers tin bring overmuch needed h2o to drought-prone areas similar California, successful caller weeks they person coincided with different terrible upwind systems - specified arsenic debased unit "bomb cyclones", causing terrible storms.

California has suffered years of drought - hardening the aboveground of the ungraded and reducing the ground's quality to sorb water. That, successful turn, makes run-off and flooding overmuch much likely.

Although a batch much rainfall would beryllium needed to reverse drought conditions crossed the state, the US Drought Monitor shows the tempest appears to person astir eliminated utmost drought conditions.

Design by Erwan Rivault and Gerry Fletcher