By Henry Austin and Dennis Romero -
NBC News
Millions of Californians remain under flood and landslide watches as forecasters continue to warn of “heavy to excessive rain” through Sunday and into next week as part of two new storms hitting the state.
As rescue efforts continue in parts of California that were hit by severe weather earlier in the week, the National Weather Service said in a bulletin Sunday that a pair of Pacific storm systems will impact the West over the weekend. week, "bringing heavy rain in low-lying areas, significant snow in the mountains and strong winds."
[California went from extreme drought to torrential rains (and the orographic effect makes it worse)]
The first system reached the coast on Saturday and moved inland causing excessive rainfall in some locations due to the overflow of streams.
“Moderate showers will continue through Sunday, before the arrival of a second storm system
that will approach the coast on Monday morning,” a weather statement said Saturday.
A farm worker digs a ditch to drain water and avoid covering strawberry crops after the Salinas River flooded its banks in Monterey County.
Noah Berger/AP
The higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada mountains are expected to see 36 to 72 inches of snow Monday, forecasters said.
Two to three inches of rain could fall at the foot of the Sierra, causing potential landslides and flooding.
Thousands without electricity
More than 22,000 people were still without power Saturday, according to
PowerOutage.us.
Most are connected to Pacific Gas & Electric, which serves a wide swath of the state, from the northern tip of Southern California to almost the Oregon border.
[California prepares for the onslaught of two new storms: "The ground is already saturated and it is very dangerous"]
The White House announced Saturday that President Joe Biden has approved a state of emergency declaration for California, with the bulk of federal aid going to
three hard-hit counties: Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz.
The declaration, which could be expanded to other areas, includes federal aid for recovery and repair of damage caused by storms on December 27, according to a statement.
Bear Creek, in Merced County. Noah Berger / AP
Aid will also be available statewide for "hazard mitigation," aimed at reducing the effects of future weather disasters, the text said.
more than 20 dead
Since late December, California has been
hit by
a series of storms that has left at least 21 dead
, according to a count by NBC News, sister network of Noticias Telemundo.
["Don't worry, mommy," said the missing California boy before being swept away by the current]
Authorities have been searching for a week for Kyle Doan, a 5-year-old boy who disappeared Monday after being swept away near San Miguel.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office tweeted that the search had to be called off again Saturday due to rising water levels and near-constant rain.
"Day by day" it will be decided whether to continue with the operations if the conditions allow it, the authorities clarified.
"We are not done"
The storm has lulled at times, allowing residents to prepare for what's coming and assess the damage.
But much more rain is coming, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Saturday during a visit to Merced County, which has been hit hard by bad weather.
"The reality is that this is only the eighth of what we anticipate will be nine atmospheric rivers," he said.
"We're not done."
After several days of rain, water surrounds houses and vehicles in the community of Planada, in Merced County.Noah Berger / AP
Atmospheric rivers, a term coined by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1994, are streams of water vapor that can be up to 500 miles wide and 2,000 miles long.
It is estimated that they
carry 25 times the water equivalent of the Mississippi River at 3,000 meters above the surface.
"By some estimates, between 20 and 25 trillion gallons of water that have fallen over the course of the last 16 or 17 days are accumulating in these atmospheric rivers, something we have not witnessed in our lifetime," Newsom warned.
[A new round of rain and snow approaches California, a territory marked by bad weather]
The governor blamed climate change, which has fueled extreme weather events, including intense storms, while raising temperatures slightly but significantly across the state.
Newsom noted that scientists studying the impact of global warming
have long predicted these extreme and deadly winters
.
"None of this is a surprise," he said.
The number of atmospheric rivers that have hit California in recent weeks hasn't been determined, and some of the storms may end up being counted differently, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
More flooding and strong winds
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Saturday for parts of the Sacramento River where the Tehama Bridge reached flood level.
On Saturday night, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge across the San Francisco Bay Area was closed for at least an hour after a truck carrying United States Postal Service mail rolled over just after 5:00 p.m. reported Darrel Horner, an officer with the California Highway Patrol.
Those affected by bad weather in California will have relief on their state taxes
Jan 14, 202300:19
The cause of the accident is believed to be wind.
“At the time the truck was overturned, the winds were up to around 75 mph.
That played a role,” Horner said.
There were minor injuries and no one was arrested.
The vehicle had to be lifted off the freeway before the lanes could be reopened, he said.
The reopening was announced at 8:12 p.m., just over an hour after the announcement of its closure.
The National Weather Service office that serves the Bay area said the night could bring "brief heavy showers, small hail and gusty winds."
Parts of
Monterey and Santa Cruz counties were under mandatory evacuation Saturday night
, authorities in both jurisdictions said.
The orders covered low-lying areas prone to flooding.
A highway collapsed on a pile of asphalt Saturday near the coastal town of Pescadero, south of Half Moon Bay, authorities said.
In Napa County, drivers were asked to avoid northbound Highway 29 due to flooding.
A new round of rain and snow approaches California, a territory marked by bad weather
Jan 14, 202300:45
The governor and other officials pleaded with residents to "be vigilant" and not be indifferent to the arrival of new storms.
“I know how fatigued you are,” Newsom said in a speech during a visit Friday to the coastal enclave of Montecito, in Santa Barbara County, which was evacuated earlier this week.
"Keep watching just a little longer over the course of the next weekend,"
he insisted.
[The impressive aerial images of the sinkhole that swallowed two cars in California]
His visit coincided with the fifth anniversary of the mudslide that killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in that affluent community.
After thanking members of the National Guard for cleaning up a basin built to divert rain after the avalanche, Newsom asked citizens to use "common sense" and obey the instructions of the authorities.
The flow of the Los Angeles River fed by storms this Saturday, January 14, 2023.Damian Dovarganes / AP
Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, agreed with Newsom and urged people to remain cautious.
“People will become complacent, but
the ground is saturated.
It's very, very dangerous
," Ward told a news conference.
“The water can continue to rise long after the storms pass.”
millionaire damages
Damage assessments from
the recent storms are expected to exceed $1 billion
, after roofs were blown off homes in some parts of the state, vehicles were submerged and trees were uprooted.
[This is how survivors are rescued in Georgia and Alabama after tornadoes that killed 9 people]
In southern California, authorities determined that storm runoff in the Ventura River was larger than previously thought.
Two Ojai Valley Sanitation District sewer lines damaged on Jan. 9 have released more than 14 million gallons, the Ventura County Division of Environmental Health reported Thursday.
Warning signs have been posted along the river and beaches.
In other states, residents tried to save their belongings and rescue teams pulled survivors from under collapsed houses after a tornado struck that killed nine people in parts of Georgia and Alabama on Friday.
The widespread destruction became visible a day after violent storms tossed mobile homes into the air, knocked out power lines, derailed a freight train and sent uprooted trees crashing into buildings.