California faces prospect of more storms with 17 dead so far, Evacuations Ordered

Thousands of residents were told to leave their homes as heavy rain caused flooding in parts of California. Relentless storms have killed at least 17 people since late December...

1. California saw no relief from drenching rains early Tuesday, as the latest in a relentless string of storms continued to swamp roads and batter coastlines with high surf, turning rivers into gushing flood zones and forcing the evacuation of thousands in towns with histories of deadly mudslides. At least 17 people have died since the storms began last week.

The storm prompted a few tornado warnings early Tuesday and also was expected to bring heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada mountain range a day after dumping up to 36 centimetres of rain at higher elevations in central and Southern California.

After a brief respite, another storm was expected to barrel into the state beginning Wednesday, adding to the misery and further saturating areas already at risk of flooding and debris flows. It could bring enough rain to exacerbate ongoing flooding and heighten the risk of mudslides, forecasters said.

 The NWS described an "endless onslaught of atmospheric river events" that is the most powerful storm system since 2005.

The town of Montecito, a favorite of American entertainment royalty such as Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Aniston, was expected to get up to eight inches of rain in 24 hours -- threatening dangerous mudslides on hills already sodden by weeks of downpours.
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2. Relentless rains that started falling on Sunday have flooded parts of Los Angeles, killed at least 17 people statewide and led to evacuation orders for nearly 50,000 residents across California as rivers continue to rise and mudslide fears grow.

Forecasters warned Californians to expect unusual bouts of hail, lightning storms, wind gusts of up to 60 miles an hour and possibly even tornadoes to go along with the heavy rain for much of Tuesday. Experts say the cost of the damage done by the storms could top $1 billion.

As strong as the storms of recent weeks have been, scientists and meteorologists are still waiting to see whether they will come close to equaling the most severe winter-weather crisis in the West Coast’s modern history.

Historical comparisons are tricky: Such storms’ effects can vary significantly between Northern and Southern California and between different river basins. There isn’t just one metric that captures everything about how big or how destructive one of these weekslong storm sequences was.
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Related:
California Storm Leaves over 560,000 Homes without Power, More Rough Weather Ahead:
[https://www.eco-r.eu/2023/01/california-storm-leaves-over-560000.html]
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Bomb cyclone sweeps California with rains, winds and floods:
[https://www.eco-r.eu/2023/01/bomb-cyclone-sweeps-california-with.html]
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October 26, 2021:
La Californie frappée par la sécheresse et par un cyclone extratropical :
[https://www.eco-r.eu/2021/10/la-californie-frappee-par-la-secheresse.html]