The latest Pacific storm unleashed torrential rains and damaging winds across California on Tuesday, knocking out power and turning city streets into rivers as mudslides cut freeways and washed away entire communities. Evacuation orders were faced.
more than that 33 million California There was a threat of severe weather throughout the day as “more than heavy” rain was expected across the state, particularly in Southern California, with wind gusts exceeding 40 mph (64 km/h) in many places, the National Weather Service said. Service (NWS) said.
Strong winds wreaked havoc on the power grid, knocking out power to 180,000 homes and businesses as of Tuesday afternoon, according to data from Poweroutage.us.
At least 17 people have been killed by storms since the start of the year, California Governor Gavin Newsom said.
“This storm was different in that it was longer here. It was more intense because the ground was more saturated from the previous storm, which caused more flooding and because of the ground saturation. More rescues,” said Ventura County Fire Department Division Chief Barry Parker.
Experts say the increasing frequency and intensity of such storms, coupled with extreme heat and dry spells, are signs of climate change. Although rain and snow will help replenish reservoirs, a mere two weeks of rain will not solve a two-decade drought.
Meanwhile, regions bereft of wildfires in the past have increased the risk of flooding and mudslides.
Torrential rains, along with heavy snowfall in the highlands, are following another “atmospheric river” that is moving into California from the tropical Pacific.
Six atmospheric rivers have hit California in the past 17 days, bringing up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain in some areas, said Zach Taylor, a meteorologist with the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center. At least two more were arriving as of Wednesday morning, Taylor said.
“We’re in the middle of a three-year mega-drought across the entire West Coast of the United States … and now here we are talking about historic floods and ecological rivers. Now stacking up to six with three more on the way. Newsom told The Weather Channel in an interview.
“If you don’t believe in climate change, come to California. We’re living it,” Newsom said.
Most of the damage was concentrated around the city of Santa Barbara, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Los Angeles, where the foothills slope steeply toward the Pacific Ocean.
In the Rancho Oso area of the Santa Ynez Mountains above Santa Barbara, mud and debris across the road isolated about 400 people and 70 horses, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department posted a photo of a vehicle stuck in the mud on Twitter. said .
Near the coast, the California Highway Patrol closed US 101, the main highway connecting northern and southern California, with no estimate of reopening.
“Please stay home and if possible do not drive today,” the Highway Patrol advised on Twitter, posting pictures of mudslides and falling rock that blocked the highway.
Several communities were flooded, including Goleta, where a man waded through the streets on his paddle board.
On Monday, authorities ordered the evacuation of about 25,000 people, including the entire affluent enclave of Montecito near Santa Barbara, due to threats of flooding and mudslides. But evacuation orders in Santa Barbara County were lifted Tuesday afternoon, the county sheriff’s department announced.
Further south in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth, two vehicles fell into a sinkhole that opened up under a road.
Floodwaters hit a train station in downtown Los Angeles, submerging pedestrian walkways.