Southern California has been warned of the possibility of flash flooding after a storm driven by El Nino brought heavy rain on Tuesday. After all the talk, El Nino storms have finally lined up over the Pacific and started soaking drought-parched California with rain expected to last for most of the next two weeks, forecasters said Monday.
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Through Thursday night, there could be 2 to 4 feet of fresh snow in the San Bernardino Mountains at elevations above 7,000 feet, where Big Bear Lake is.
Caption + Authorities investigate a multi-vehicle crash involving a semi-truck in the westbound lane of Foothill 210 Freeway at Sierra Madre Blvd., Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, in Pasadena, Calif. Persistent wet conditions could put some Los Angeles County communities at risk of flash flooding along with mud and debris flows, especially in wildfire burn areas. Over the last 24 hours, Santa Monica received 1.5 inches and Malibu got 1.76 inches of rain, the National Weather Service said.
The second of four El Nino storms expected this week brought sometimes-intense rainfall to the Southland Tuesday, flooding intersections in the San Fernando Valley and creating challenging road conditions.
Areas primed for mudslides and flooding include those damaged by California’s years-long onslaught of wildfires, which now lack vegetation that usually keeps soil in place.
A parade of strong storms being fueled by the El Nino influenced weather pattern are slamming into California this week.
“We’re at least on a good trajectory”.
Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl said in a statement that it will not be possible to provide significant levels of flood protection in that portion of Los Angeles River without the required maintenance.
This has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood warning to California.
El Nino storms in the early 1980s and late 1990s brought about twice as much rain as normal, Jet Propulsion Laboratory climatologist Bill Patzert said.
Despite the potential for flooding and mudslides, the wet weather in California was welcome news for a state suffering from a severe drought.
Glendora city officials reminded residents not to cross flowing water or mud, and protect themselves from debris flows on their property by going to the highest point in the house or the middle of a single-story residence. Factors of El Niño, which is characterized by unusually warm temperatures, are part four storms that are soaking the coast in rain. “We could continue to see frequent storms moving through until El Niño goes back to neutral in spring”. Police were prepared to temporarily detain people who were illegally camped along the Los Angeles River but refused to move. He was treated at a hospital for scraped feet and arms.
California is in its fourth year of a drought that has cost the state’s agricultural economy $1.84 billion, according to the University of California, Davis.
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Muni spokesman Paul Rose says the agency stopped service on the cable auto lines Wednesday as a precaution and will restore service when the rain eases.
