'1-in-1,000 year rain' event: State of emergency due to floods, mudslides in California: Updates
Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the California rain event for Monday, Feb. 5. For the latest news on the weather, view our live updates file for Tuesday, Feb. 6.
SAN DIEGO − The tail end of a powerful atmospheric river storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of California homes and businesses was deluging the state Monday with more heavy rain, mudslides, flooding, and several feet of snow in the mountains.
The brunt of the storm's fury Monday centered on the Los Angeles area, where 1.4 million people were under a flash flood warning – including the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills. A local state of emergency was issued for the city of Los Angeles by Mayor Karen Bass on Monday afternoon.
Across Southern California, the heavy winds that blasted the region Sunday were diminishing, but the National Weather Service warned that an unstable weather pattern could generate waterspouts or small tornadoes.
Flash flooding "is a much greater threat than any weak tornado that the storm may spawn," the weather service said, and dangerous flooding was likely across much of the region from the atmospheric river − the equivalent of a river in the sky that is responsible for extreme rain and snow in the West.
Additional rainfall totals of 5-8 inches were forecast in some areas, which would bring 48-hour totals as high as 14 inches for some locations, the weather service said. A state of emergency was declared in eight Southern California counties.
"Life-threatening conditions may evolve extremely fast in some communities," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warned.
Developments:
∎ A debris flow caused significant damage to about five homes in Beverly Hills on Monday, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Although no one was trapped, about 10 people have been displaced, the LAFD said.
∎ The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that 1,000 firefighters were responding to 49 mudslides and debris flows, 130 reports of flooding, half a dozen structure fires and other rescues of motorists stranded in vehicles.
∎ Los Angeles recorded more than 4 inches of rain Sunday, breaking the record for the day by more than an inch. It was the most rain in one day in more than 20 years, and surpassed the average for the month of February.
∎ The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am golf tournament in Monterey County, which had postponed Sunday's final round to Monday, canceled play Monday and declared Wyndham Clark the winner despite playing only 54 holes of the scheduled 72-hole tournament.
∎ Officials have attributed three deaths to the storm. In Yuba City, 40 miles north of Sacramento, a man was killed when a redwood tree toppled on him in high winds, police said. Two other men were killed by fallen trees Sunday in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento, and in Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz County.
San Diego residents advised to remain vigilant
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued an evacuation warning for low-lying, flood-prone areas that were battered by heavy rains last week and flooded out two weeks ago. Some areas outside the city saw up to 7 inches of rain in the last two days.
"I understand the weariness that must come from these repeated warnings," Gloria said. "I recognize that fatigue may be settling in. But I can assure you this decision to issue this warning is not taken lightly. I ask that everyone remain prepared and vigilant."
A flood advisory was issued for the entire county coastline and will be in effect until 8 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service. A flood watch for the county will be in effect until Tuesday.
According to Gloria's office, nearly 160 households were referred for temporary placement in hotel rooms.
Santa Barbara cancels evacuation orders
Evacuation orders for Santa Barbara County were canceled Monday after the worst of the storm hit the area overnight.
Officials had made an early recommendation to close schools in preparation for dangerous conditions, according to Camilla Barnwell, director of communications for the Santa Barbara County Education Office. The office said most schools across the county will reopen Tuesday.
"One or two schools had some debris that needed to be removed," Barnwell told USA TODAY. "The storm just barely lifted yesterday evening so they were out on campuses today assessing the damage... heavy trees coming down, maybe one school (had) some power issues."
'Non-stop rain' in Los Angeles as shelters aid city's homeless population
Between 5 and 10 inches of rain had fallen in the Los Angeles area with more expected, according to the National Weather Service. Dave Bruno, a meteorologist with the weather service in Los Angeles, said Monday was the third wettest two-day period on record in downtown.
Shelters were adding beds for the city’s homeless population of nearly 75,000 people.
Georgia Berkovich, chief communications officer of The Midnight Mission, said there has been "non-stop rain." She added that The Midnight Mission, which is a Los Angeles-based human service organization, has opened its dining room for shelter and provides resources to people, including hot meals and 24-hour restrooms.
About 100 people came to The Midnight Mission "just to get out of the element," Berkovich told USA TODAY.
"Once your clothes are wet it’s over. People are freezing to their core," she said. "So strange in LA we have this great climate but people die of exposure, die on our streets all the time."
Storm by the numbers
∎ A rough calculation estimates that 5.6 trillion gallons of water has fallen across California the past two days, according to FOX Weather meteorologist Greg Diamond.
∎ AccuWeather estimates the preliminary total damage and economic loss from the intense storms and record rainfall in California this week will be between $9 billion and $11 billion.
∎ The 11.87 inches that fell in 24 hours at UCLA’s weather station was a 1-in-1,000 year rainfall event. Technically known as a "1,000-year recurrence interval event," according to meteorologist Jacob Feuerstein, a 1-in-1,000-year rain event is a statistical way of expressing the probability of such a huge rainfall occurring in any given year in a given location, according to NOAA.
Mud flows through multimillion-dollar homes
Several multimillion dollar houses in the Hollywood Hills were damaged as mud, rocks and debris oozed and rolled through the area Monday. Sixteen people were evacuated, city officials said.
“I can’t believe it," Keki Mingus of Studio City, California, said, as water rushed down her road around dawn on Monday. "It looks like a river that’s been here for years. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Wind, snow hammer Mammoth Mountain
The storm unleashed howling winds and huge snow totals in the mountains. The National Weather Service recorded a wind gust of 125 mph at the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area late Sunday. That same location received a storm total of 39 inches as of Monday morning.
Where is the storm headed next?
After battering California on Monday, the storm's moisture will help fuel heavy snow across the West, and heavy rain in the normally arid Desert Southwest over the next few days, forecasters said. "Rainfall totals generally between 1-3 inches may lead to some scattered instances of flash flooding," the National Weather Service said.
Flood watches were in effect throughout portions of southern Arizona and southern Nevada because of the threat of heavy rain and flooding.
Climate change, El Nino conspire to fuel storms
Multiple weather and climate phenomena are conspiring to make these storms particularly damaging. Warm water provides energy to storms, and record-high ocean water temperatures, likely from climate change, are being detected around the world. Additionally, the Pacific Ocean is also seeing the effects of El Nino, where weakening trade winds reduce the upwelling of ocean waters and allow surface waters to bake in the sun and grow warmer still. And California, coming off years of drought and wildfires, is particularly vulnerable to mudslides and flooding.
"The atmospheric river firehose is aimed at Los Angeles," tweeted meteorologist Ryan Maue. "The onslaught has just begun from this treacherous bomb cyclone."
102-mph wind gust recorded in San Francisco Bay area
In Northern California, the storm swamped streets and toppled trees and power lines across the San Francisco Bay area. A rare hurricane-force wind warning had been posted for the area, and winds exceeded 60 mph with wind gusts recorded as high as 102 mph in Marin County − the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane.
In nearby San Jose, first responders went door-to-door warning residents of the flood threat and removing unhoused people from riverbeds. They pulled travelers out of the windows of a car stranded by floodwaters and rescued several people and dogs from an island in the Guadalupe River as it became overwhelmed by high waters.
Storm is second to blast state in days
The storm slammed California just days after much of the state was soaked with up to 6 inches of rain by the first storm in the "Pineapple Express," so-called because moisture builds up in the tropical Pacific around Hawaii and can roll across the ocean and pound the U.S. and Canada's west coasts with heavy rainfall and snow. The current storm is packing more moisture and overwhelming already-saturated regions.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said the state had a record number of emergency assets responding to the "serious storm with dangerous and potentially life-threatening impacts." Those impacts included almost 600,000 homes and businesses without power Monday.
Life-threatening flood threat:Heavy rain and powerful winds clobber California
Landslide hits Hollywood Hills
In the Hollywood Hills the weather serviced warned Monday of an "extremely dangerous situation unfolding" with life threatening landslides and flash flooding. Several families had to evacuate when a mudslide caused a gas leak. A neighborhood in Studio City was forced to evacuate after a slide severely damaged multiple homes. In suburban Tarzana, three homes were swamped by debris flow with firefighters aiding the evacuation of residents.
Flooding and small mudslides were also reported across Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Malibu and Beverly Hills.
“Life-threatening flash flooding is ongoing and will continue into the morning hours of Monday,” the weather service said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath urged residents near wildfire burn areas of Topanga and Soledad canyons to get out ahead of possible mudslides. The county set up shelters for evacuees.
“If you have not already left, please gather your family, your pets, your medications and leave immediately,” Horvath said at a Sunday briefing.
Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; The Associated Press