Californians are recovering after a catastrophic storm that caused life-threatening flooding and left nearly a million people without power. Forecasters warn that the storm could hit major cities this week.
The storm is the second Pineapple Express weather system to hit the state in the past week and hit just as Los Angeles was welcoming celebrities to the red carpet covered Grammy Awards.
The severe conditions prompted the Bay Area office of the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a rare hurricane-force wind warning for Big Sur and surrounding areas. Residents were urged to “protect lives” and stay at home wherever possible.
Rain canceled the final round of the professional golf tournament at Pebble Beach in Monterey County, northern California. With heavy rain forecast for Monday, the PGA Tour ended the event after just three days and crowned Wyndham Clark the winner.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in eight counties with a combined population of more than 20 million people, and flash flood warnings were issued for parts of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
The second of back-to-back atmospheric rivers shook California on Sunday
Meteorologists have warned that the storm could hover over the state's major cities in the next few days
A woman walks across a flooded crosswalk during an atmospheric river weather event in Santa Barbara
“This has the potential to result in a historic storm with strong winds, thunderstorms and even brief tornadoes,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at a news conference.
Not only were the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County drenched, but the storm was also expected to stall or reverse course in some areas by Tuesday, creating a serious threat of flooding and mudslides.
“Monday night's commute will be a complete disaster to say the least. “In fact, it will be so bad that I would recommend everyone stay home in LA if possible,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California in Los Angeles, on Sunday in a livestream.
The NWS recorded peak wind gusts of 80 mph and more in places.
More than 900,000 homes and businesses were without power Sunday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
Near Los Angeles, the port city of Long Beach could see more rain this week than it has in an entire year, said Mayor Rex Richardson, who expects 5 to 7 inches Sunday through Tuesday.
California's south and central coasts are expecting rainfall of an inch per hour and a total of 3 to 6 inches, the U.S. Weather Service said. Up to 6-12 inches is expected in the foothills and lower mountains.
The Los Angeles and Santa Barbara areas were at high risk for excessive rainfall on Sunday and Monday, with forecasters expecting “nearly continuous rainfall” for 48 hours.
Evacuation orders were issued for some residents of those counties, as well as people in the San Jose area, Ventura County and two areas of Los Angeles County previously hit by wildfires, leaving denuded terrain more vulnerable to mudslides.
The current “bomb cyclone” — a term that describes a storm that rapidly intensifies within 24 hours — could dump more than 8 trillion gallons of rain across the state.
Sandbags and plastic are used to prevent erosion and mudslides during heavy rains in Malibu
A view of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) during heavy rain
The storm led to the cancellation of dozens of flights in San Francisco on Sunday, according to flight information monitors
California is bracing for potentially days of heavy rain, flooding of roads and power outages for nearly 800,000 people, with flood warnings in effect for 97 percent of the state's population
The current “bomb cyclone” — a term that describes a storm that rapidly intensifies within 24 hours — could dump more than 8 trillion gallons of rain across the state, including San Francisco
The storm flooded streets and downed trees and power lines across the San Francisco Bay Area, where some areas experienced winds topping 60 miles per hour and what appeared to be a white tarp flag blew from a building. Gusts of more than 80 miles per hour were recorded in the mountains.
A video from Los Angeles showed frightening images of planes flying into the city trying to cope in the horrific conditions.
In Southern California, officials warned of potentially devastating flooding and ordered evacuation of canyons that burned in recent wildfires and where there is a high risk of mudflows and debris flows.
The National Weather Service's Los Angeles office warned that “all systems are in place for one of the most dramatic days of weather in recent memory.”
A Santa Barbara home improvement depot that saw the worst chaos in videos posted online sold out sandbags and instead offered customers potting soil and fertilizer.
“This storm is expected to be one of the largest and most significant in our county's history, and our goal is to weather it without loss of life or serious injury,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters Saturday.
Classes were canceled Monday for schools across the county, which was devastated by mudslides caused by strong storms in 2018.
Strong winds and heavy rain brought treacherous conditions to the coastal city of Ventura, west of Los Angeles.
More than 790,000 customers were without power nationwide as of Sunday evening, with most outages concentrated in coastal areas, according to poweroutage.us.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area had a low risk of waterspouts making landfall and becoming tornadoes.
Search and rescue workers evacuate men from a homeless camp surrounded by floodwaters from the Guadalupe River
A boater stands at the bow of an anchored sailboat as waves crash over a breakwater in Alameda
Search and rescue workers examine a car surrounded by floodwaters
A vehicle drives through water on a flooded street in Ventura
The last time the center predicted a tornado risk in the region was in February 2015, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Winds caused hours-long delays at San Francisco International Airport. According to tracking website FlightAware, as of 2:30 p.m. Sunday, 155 departing flights were delayed and 69 were canceled.
The visibly bad weather didn't stop throngs of San Francisco 49ers fans from braving the storm and sending their team to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Palisades Tahoe, a ski resort about 200 miles northeast of San Francisco, said it was expecting its heaviest snowfall yet this season, with accumulations of 6 inches per hour and totals of up to 2 feet.
Heavy snow was expected across the Sierra Nevada through Monday and motorists were urged to avoid mountain roads.
Large parts of the state were parched by the system that hit last week, causing flooding and welcome snow in the mountains.
The latest storm, nicknamed the “Pineapple Express” because its plume of moisture stretches across the Pacific to near Hawaii, hit the coast of Northern California on Saturday as most of the state was under a wind, surf or flood watch .
The weather service issued a rare advisory on Sunday “Hurricane wind warning” for the Central Coast, with wind gusts up to 92 mph from the Monterey Peninsula to the northern part of San Luis Obispo County.
A man with an umbrella stands over a flooded street in Ventura
Rescue workers assist a boater, left, after his sailboat drifted onto a breakwater while dragging anchor
A man looks at a fallen tree and power lines blocking a street in Pebble Beach
San Francisco 49ers fans are braving the treacherous weather to send their team to the Super Bowl on Sunday
San Francisco firefighters posted this video of waves coming off the bay on Sunday
Please stay away from downed power lines! Call 9-1-1 to report the situation.
¡Manténgase alejado de las eléctricas caídas! Call 9-1-1 to report the situation. pic.twitter.com/vOM4gZAlns
— Santa Barbara Police Department (@SB_Police) February 4, 2024
Rain forced organizers to postpone the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in Monterey County until Monday.
Meanwhile, Southern California was at risk of significant flooding starting late Sunday as the system moved slowly, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist at the weather service's Los Angeles office.
“The core of the low pressure system is very deep, moving very slowly and very close to us.” And that's why we have these very strong winds. And the slow nature really gives us the highest rainfall and flood risk,” he said at a briefing on Sunday.
Evacuation orders and warnings were in effect for mountain and canyon areas of Monterey, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath urged residents near wildfire areas in Topanga and Soledad canyons to heed orders and flee possible mudslides.
A drift boat washes ashore during a rainstorm in Santa Barbara
People fill sandbags during a rainstorm in Santa Barbara
Fallen trees and power lines block a road in Pebble Beach
Palisades Tahoe, a ski resort about 200 miles northeast of San Francisco, said it was expecting its heaviest snowfall yet this season, with accumulations of 6 inches per hour and totals of up to 2 feet
“If you have not left yet, please gather your family, your pets and your medications and leave immediately,” Horvath said at a briefing Sunday. The district set up shelters where evacuees could stay overnight.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Sunday for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
The Governor's Office of Emergency Services activated its operations center and deployed personnel and equipment to the most vulnerable areas.
The weather service is forecasting up to 8 inches of precipitation in coastal and valley areas of Southern California, with up to 14 inches possible in the foothills and mountains.
Heavy to moderate rain is expected across Southern California through Tuesday.