California's Salinas River began to burst its banks Friday morning, flooding roads leading to nearby communities, where 24,000 people have been asked to evacuate their homes due to the series of storms that have battered the state .
The center of the country's most populous state is at risk of 'catastrophic flooding' this weekend, meteorologists say, as an eighth and ninth storm looms, on soils unable to absorb any extra drop of water.
Several other evacuation orders were issued, including around Ocean, around Pacheco Pass and Uvas Reservoir.
California has averaged more than 4 inches of rain in the past 18 days and some places have seen more than a year of rain.
Six other rivers and streams, including the Russian River in Guerneville, are under surveillance.
Forecasts for this weekend called for one depression overnight Friday through Saturday, and the other active Sunday through Tuesday, bringing together 5-8cm of precipitation all around the bay.
That's less rain than in previous storms, but on soggy ground, even a light downpour could be destructive, officials said.
“I don't see extreme rainfall, but the impacts will intensify as everything is completely saturated.
There will be more flooding this weekend,” and it could be “catastrophic,” UCLA and Nature Conservancy climatologist Daniel Swain said Friday in an online presentation.
It is between the afternoon and the night of this Saturday that the heaviest precipitation is expected.
The entire city of Salinas, which has 160,000 residents, could be flooded and the Monterey Peninsula could turn into an island due to rising waters.
More than 36,000 ha of agricultural land are expected to be submerged.
Farmers in the county worked feverishly through Thursday and Friday erecting roadside shoulders to protect their fields, while residents laid down sandbags or sought to leave before rising waters cut off the access to their homes.
Further north the snow is piling up
Moving storms this weekend are also expected to be colder than previous ones and could dump an additional 80 to 150 cm of snow on the Sierra Nevada by Tuesday, likely making trips to Lake Tahoe and other destinations popular particularly perilous.
Daniel Swain forecast "huge accumulations of snow, in addition to what has already been an extremely impressive snowfall - one of the largest snow accumulations on record for the start of January", with the winds freezing cold that had paralyzed the entire northern west coast, and caused many deaths.
Strong winds are expected throughout the weekend, worsening conditions.
Strong winds are expected to increase again tonight and peak Saturday morning.
Wind advisories are in effect, visit https://t.co/puxKJFy7J6 and search for your location for details.
pic.twitter.com/bcvAB4l9pv
— NWS Eureka (@NWSEureka) January 14, 2023
On Friday night, Interstate 80 through the Sierra Nevada was closed and traffic was diverted.
Tow trucks were on the way to the scene to help the stranded vehicles.
#TrafficAlert for EB I-80 travelers headed to Tahoe: All traffic is being turned around at Nyack due multiple vehicle spinouts over the Donner Summit.
Tows on the way.
It's unknown when the highway will reopen.
@CHP_Truckee @CHPGoldRun @PlacerSheriff @nevadadot pic.twitter.com/l64UCZRRzL
— Caltrans District 3 (@CaltransDist3) January 14, 2023
In San Francisco, further north, authorities on Friday warned of flooding and power outages and asked residents to avoid traveling over the weekend.
Friday's storms are the latest in a series of atmospheric rivers that have flooded California since late December.
These storms killed at least 19 people, flooded inland areas and generated three-story high waves along the coast.
The AccuWeather weather service estimates that the storms have caused up to $34 billion in damage so far.
VIDEO.
Floods in California: 14 dead, evacuation of Montecito, the city of stars
The only good news: heavy rains have eased California's historic drought, according to the US Drought Observatory.
The state is no longer considered to be in extreme drought or exceptional drought, the two worst categories, but much of the state is still considered to be experiencing moderate or severe drought conditions.