(Photo : DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
For weeks, the state has been suffering from heavy rains and floods that resulted in evacuations, road closures, and massive power outages.
A fresh weather system with rain, snow and heavy winds blasted into storm-ravaged California on Saturday, the latest in a string of severe weather streams that have wrecked devastation over the state in recent weeks.
The National Weather Service has predicted that the rain will let up next week, but this weekend the first of two systems that are scheduled to impact California during the US holiday weekend made landfall, bringing with it much more torrential rain.
Waves of heavy precipitation continue to batter California. Heavy rain will continue bringing the threat of flooding and mudslides/landslides. Hazardous travel due to heavy mountain snow and blowing snow from CA to CO. pic.twitter.com/6LQXmxC6zh
— National Weather Service (@NWS) January 15, 2023
Saturday's National Weather Service advisory warned of "heavy lower elevation rain, significant mountain snow, and strong winds" as a result of the systems, per Reuters.
Since December 26, the Golden State has been pummeled by atmospheric rivers seldom witnessed in such rapid succession, resulting in at least 19 fatalities, flooding, landslides, power outages, evacuations, and street closures.
The website PowerOutage.us stated that as of Saturday afternoon, more than 24,000 utility customers were without power.
Central Valley farms have received the equivalent of a year's worth of rain from the California storm, while some mountaintops have received as much as 15 feet (4.5 m) of snow.
Flood Watch Up for Millions of California Residents
More than 26 million residents in the state, which has been hit by a series of devastating California storms, are under flood alerts. Several communities in Sacramento County were ordered evacuated Saturday afternoon because of a potential flood, and the Office of Emergency Services issued the warning.
Placer County officials sealed roads Saturday due to fallen boulders and damage from runoff, according to ABC News.
The National Weather Service has warned that 2-3 inches of rain near the coast could cause small urban floods and "mudslides" in a few places amid the California storm.
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The agency predicts less rain on Sunday "with another ramp-up late Sunday into early Monday ahead of a second system." Warnings have been issued for persistent winds of 20-30 mph and gusts of up to 50 mph along the coast and in the Central Valley.
We have issued a Hydrologic Statement for the Salinas River at Paso Robles as it has reached Monitor Stage. However, only minor additional rise is expected this evening, and it should recede later tonight. #CAwx https://t.co/Q6nAbIZAx3
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 15, 2023
Additionally, the Sierra Nevada Mountains will have 3-6 feet of snowfall this weekend and into next week.
Recent Storms Still Not Enough To End California Drought
Since Christmas, the state has been hit by six major storms, all of which were fueled by atmospheric rivers, according to state climatologist Michael Anderson. Even though there is a lot of water in the state, officials are getting ready for the possibility of more California drought in some parts of the state this summer.
Karla Nemeth, head of California's Department of Water Resources, says the state suffers from "both a drought emergency and a flood emergency." Nemeth blamed climate change for the state's current crises.
The scenario has brought to light a fundamental conflict driving westerners' climate worries: people aren't receiving rain when they need it. The state's enormous water reservoir system was built before climate change was understood to exacerbate California drought and storms.
Communities now manage conflicting priorities. To prepare for hotter, drier summers, they desperately try to save as much water as possible in reservoirs. However, some have been forced to let go of accumulated water to control floods, NBC News reported.
Weeks of heavy rain haven't filled the state's major reservoirs, showing how badly the drought damaged its water supplies. Most of the precipitation from atmospheric river storms won't be saved for summertime usage.
California is known for its yearly dry season, which generally lasts from May to September, as well as its years-long cycles of drought.
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