SAN FRANCISCO – Just as millions of Californians catch a break from a powerful Pineapple Express storm that impacted the state at the start of the weekend, a multiday atmospheric river storm is getting set to move in later Sunday and bring a renewed threat of flash flooding, mudslides and landslides.
The first storm arrived on Saturday and tapped into tropical moisture stretching back from Hawaii, bringing torrential rain to parts of California.
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Officials in Santa Barbara County, northwest of Los Angeles, issued Evacuation Warnings on Saturday for parts of the county due to the incoming atmospheric river storm.
“Be prepared to sustain yourself and your household for multiple days if you choose not to evacuate, as you may not be able to leave the area and emergency responders may not be able to access your property in the event of road damage, flooding or debris,” officials warned.
Farther north in Klamath, near the Oregon border, cameras captured video of the moment a hillside gave way along California’s U.S. Highway 101 due to the relentless rain. No injuries were reported.
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The second storm to slam California starts later Sunday, and the FOX Forecast Center warned that this atmospheric river will by far be the most impactful.
“We want you to listen to this forecast closely,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Craig Herrera said. “It’s a similar setup to what we had with the last atmospheric river. Not as much moisture, but the ground is saturated, and that’s where the impacts will happen.”
The FOX Forecast Center said that while the amount of moisture coming off the Pacific Ocean will be less concentrated than the past atmospheric river events, it’s the duration of the storm that will be problematic.
“Models are indicating steering winds, which usually push along low-pressure systems, will considerably weaken, which will allow the storm to sit and spin off the coast for two to three days.
That means rain could fall over the same areas from Northern California southward through Central California and stretching into Southern California over the next several days.
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NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) has placed most of Northern and Central California under a Level 2/4 risk of flooding, which includes cities such as Eureka, Fort Bragg and San Francisco.
A Level 3/4 risk of flooding remains for the Santa Ynez range in Santa Barbara County, and the risk was expanded northward to include the Santa Lucia range in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.
That’s where the most rain is expected to fall, with the heaviest first impacting the Santa Lucia range through early Monday morning and then shifting southward into the Santa Ynez through about noon Monday.
More than 35 million people in California are now under a Flood Watch as the storm gears up to move into the state.
The Flood Watch includes cities such as Chico in Northern California, San Francisco, Monterey and Fresno in Central California, and Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Temecula and San Diego in Southern California.
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The FOX Forecast Center expects most areas to see between 2 and 3 inches of rain to fall over the next few days, with many areas seeing much higher totals.
About 3-5 inches of rain could fall along California’s coast from the Fort Bragg area southward into San Francisco and along Interstate 5 into San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
Some locally higher precipitation amounts of 5-8 inches are also possible.
High rain totals are also possible in the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada mountain range before the changeover to snow over the higher elevations.
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Flooding isn’t the only concern as this latest atmospheric river storm slams California.
There’s now a threat of severe weather, including possible tornadoes, in portions of Northern California on Monday. Other threats from thunderstorms that develop include damaging wind gusts.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has placed parts of California’s Central Valley under a Level 2 out of 5 on its severe thunderstorm risk scale.
The Level 2 risk includes Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto.
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Damaging wind gusts are also possible as the atmospheric river storm slams into California Sunday night and into Monday.
“(The winds) are going to be pretty gusty and strong,” Herrera said. “That could bring trees down.”
Power outages are also possible due to the possibility that trees could be brought down due to the higher wind gusts.
“Be ready for some of these old trees, old oak trees and eucalyptus trees,” Herrera continued. “Those eucalyptus trees don’t have a good root system, so those could come down pretty quickly.”
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Millions of people in California are now under wind alerts through Tuesday.
A High Wind Watch is in effect for Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt and Trinity counties due to expected sustained winds of 25-35 mph, with some gusts up to 65 mph possible.
Wind Advisories remain in effect for much of Northern and Central California, including Sacramento, San Francisco and Monterey.
High Wind Warnings have been issued for parts of Southern California, including the Santa Lucia Mountains, San Luis Obispo County Mountains and Santa Barbara County Interior Mountains, for expected wind gusts up to 60 mph.
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Snow is expected in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada – and a lot of it.
“I mean, we’re talking about 1 to as much as maybe 3 feet of snow, especially in the higher elevations,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Kendall Smith said.
The snow could lead to some treacherous travel at times, and travel itself could be nearly impossible on untreated roads and highways in the area.
The snow totals will increase the higher you go in elevation.