FELTON, CALIF. — A new weather system with rain, snow and strong winds moved into storm-lashed California on Saturday, the latest in a parade of atmospheric rivers that have wreaked havoc across the state in recent weeks.
While next week should bring some respite, the first of two systems expected to hit California over the weekend pushed onshore Saturday, unleashing more heavy rain, the National Weather Service said.
Atmospheric rivers rarely seen in such frequent succession have pounded the Golden State since Dec. 26, killing at least 19 people and bringing floods, power outages, mudslides, evacuations and road closures.
More than 24,000 utility customers were without power as of Saturday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
The storms have dropped half the average annual rainfall on the agricultural Central Valley and as much as 4.5 meters of snow in the mountains.
Flood advisories were in effect across the state on Saturday, and thousands of residents were under evacuation orders and warnings.
A neighborhood in the Santa Cruz County community of Felton in central California flooded for the second time in a week and the third time since the turn of the year.
Residents banded together, helping one another with shovels and squeegees to clean out garages and driveways.
Comments are closed.