Power outages, school closures, mudslides, flooding, evacuations — the fifth in a parade of deadly storms driven by atmospheric rivers is hitting California, and residents and officials are struggling to cope with the deluge of water. Across the state, residents faced continued weather warnings and advisories Tuesday.
National Weather Service forecasters warned of “torrential rain, widespread flooding, rapid water rises, mudslides and landslides with possible debris flows, heavy mountain snow and gusty high winds,” as some communities saw as much as a foot of rain. Rainfall totals across the state over the past several weeks were 400-600% above average, according to the service.
The service’s Sacramento office warned of possible funnel clouds and brief tornadoes as thunderstorms moved through the region Tuesday afternoon, while its Los Angeles office reported an inch of rain per hour in the area.
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And meteorologists warned that another storm is already on its way.
“The core of the system will slam onshore with moderate to heavy rain resuming across much of California today through tonight while several more feet of snow is possible along the Sierra Nevada,” the weather service said, with another atmospheric river headed to Northern California on Wednesday.