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Northern California suffered massive flooding and power outages, with powerful atmospheric rivers rushing into the region, forcing water rescues, several highway closures, evacuation warnings and shelter-in-place orders.
Despite its problems, the humidity is a bit of a saving grace for drought-stricken California, with 2022 set to be the driest year on record with drenched roads, flooded rivers and thick snow on the mountains. I was.
However, the extent to which the series of storms will affect California’s drought conditions remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, the storm, which also brought strong winds, cut power to more than 300,000 homes and businesses in California and Nevada as of early Sunday, according to Poweroutage.US.
Also, with flooded roads and rising river levels, residents of several small northern California communities were forced to leave their homes on New Year’s Eve as evacuation orders and warnings were issued.
In addition to urban flooding, several rivers have started flooding, including the Cosmnes, Mokram and Mormon rivers, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. sacramentoA flood warning has been issued for the southern Sacramento Valley and the foothills of the Sierra.
At some point Saturday, officials told residents of Wilton, about 20 miles from Sacramento, Be warned that rising water may spill onto roads and access may be blocked to leave the area, and leave the area immediately. Just about two hours later, Wilton residents were told to evacuate the area as water made the road “impassable.”
Three communities near the city of Watsonville were also ordered to evacuate the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office due to flooding in the creek. Meanwhile, the communities of Paradise Park and Felton were forced to evacuate due to rising waters in the San Lorenzo River.
In San Ramon, police used armored rescue vehicles to evacuate residents from flooding.
“With this rain continuing and countless roads closed at this time, the impact of the flooding continues to grow,” the NWS said Saturday, adding that rocks and landslides across the foothills and roads across the Sierra Pass have been slammed. told residents to stay still as the closure was reported.
Fire department crews in the greater Sacramento area conducted a water rescue on Saturday, responding to fallen trees on homes and cars and a driver whose vehicle was disabled after driving through stagnant water. I was busy.
Calling it “Stormageddon,” the Amador County Sheriff’s Office shared images of cars submerged up to their door handles in the flood waters and said there were reports of floods, landslides and trees blocking roads. I was.
Highway 50 reopened just after midnight, hours after the section between Pollock Pines and Myers was closed by flooding from the American River, and another section at Echo Summit was closed for avalanche control work. .
Interstate 80 was also partially closed near the Nevada line at noon Saturday “due to multiple spinouts at the donor summit,” according to the California Department of Transportation.
One of California’s most famous routes, U.S. Highway 101, was also temporarily closed in both directions south of San Francisco, and the California Highway Patrol said, “The rainfall and storm surges keep the water from moving, making it difficult for the water to move.” is not pulling.”
In Sacramento County and adjacent areas, gusts of up to 55 mph knocked down trees and covered roads with debris, prompting residents to avoid traveling, according to a tweet from Sacramento’s National Weather Service.
The county has declared a state of emergency, saying atmospheric rivers are causing “significant transportation impacts, elevated water levels in creeks and rivers, and flooding” in the Wilton area.
Atmospheric rivers are elongated regions of the atmosphere that can carry moisture thousands of miles, like an empty fire hose.
Downtown San Francisco received 5.46 inches on Saturday. It was the second wettest day on record for the region, according to the report. Bay Area National Weather Service.
The heavy rain is expected to move south toward Southern California on Saturday and Sunday with gusts of 30 to 50 miles per hour.
Due to heavy rains in some parts of Northern California, the mountains are covered with thick snow.
A winter storm warning is in effect for the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Yosemite National Park to Tulare County, until 4 a.m. Sunday.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, 1 to 2 feet of snow cover is expected above 7,000 feet, and 5 feet of isolated snow cover is possible above 9,000 feet.
The University of California, Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab reported 7.5 inches of snow per hour between 4 and 5 p.m. Saturday at Soda Springs, about 30 miles from Lake Tahoe. thick snow covering the area.
The lab said it unofficially measured more than 30 inches of snow on Saturday.
More than a foot of fresh snow fell on Mammoth Mountain’s main lodge on Saturday, the ski resort said on Facebook, noting that all lifts were covered in ice and that “the risk of avalanches is very high” so they could not cross the mountain. added that work will be done on
At the Nevada border and Colfax, CHP reporting “Dangerous and unsafe” driving conditions with dozens of vehicles stuck on Interstate 80 and county roads.
“Caltrans, CHP, and towers spent New Year’s Eve pulling out dozens of stranded vehicles,” the California Department of Transportation said.
