An aerial view shows a man riding a bicycle through floodwaters in the community of Pajaro, California on March 11. Residents were forced to evacuate in the middle of the night after a rising atmospheric river breached the Pajaro River and sent floodwaters into the settlement. .
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
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Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
An aerial view shows a man riding a bicycle through floodwaters in the community of Pajaro, California on March 11. Residents were forced to evacuate in the middle of the night after a rising atmospheric river breached the Pajaro River and sent floodwaters into the settlement. .
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
California has been inundated by rain since Friday, causing flash floods and landslides. While Sunday’s rain has eased, the state is bracing for another atmospheric river to make landfall by Monday evening.
That should bring more rain and snow and more flooding through Wednesday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in 21 counties, and President Biden has also approved his request for federal aid.
Officials said at least two people have died in the state recently due to bad weather. A spokesman for the California governor’s emergency services said Sunday that the agency has so far received no reports of deaths from local authorities for the current series of storms.
Atmospheric torrential downpours flooded roads and rivers Thursday and thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate. A river in central California burst its banks just before midnight Friday, completely flooding the Monterey County town of Pajaro, forcing hundreds of evacuations and dozens of rescues.
“About 1,700 people were displaced in Pajaro, and the city was flooded,” Monterey County Communications Director Nick Pasculli told NPR.
Atmospheric rivers are formed when long wind channels carry water vapor from the tropics and produce heavy rain or snow when they make landfall.
About 13,000 customers were without power in California Sunday afternoon, compared to 37,000 Saturday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
The outages were in hard-hit Monterey County, which saw nearly 13 inches of rain and the devastating breach of the Pajaro River. About 10 inches of rain fell on the Bay Area in northern California.
From Monday evening into early Wednesday morning, the next atmospheric river “may produce very heavy additional precipitation, especially in northern and central California” and “periods of very heavy snow in the mountains and gusty winds.” says David LawrenceNational Weather Service meteorologist.
This could exacerbate already severe flooding. In addition to flooding, additional rainfall and snowmelt could cause downstream streams and rivers to overflow in central and northern California.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Management urged residents to clear drains and ditches before heading out, check roadways online and be prepared to evacuate if advised.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has pre-positioned flood responders in anticipation of storms to hit the state this week.
As emergency responders prepare for more flooding at lower elevations, more snow will fall at higher elevations. Some residents of the San Bernardino Mountains are still trapped in the snow from two weeks ago.
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