An atmospheric river also known as the Pineapple Express continued to flow into California on Thursday, dumping heavy rain and snow on the state and causing road closures and rockslides. It is the first of two storms expected to sweep California over the next few days with periods of rain, snow, wind and flooding.
A second atmospheric river, which forecasters said could be much stronger than the first storm, was expected to flow into California on Sunday and into Monday.
“There was some flooding from today's storm across parts of SoCal (especially in/near Long Beach), but the Sun-Tue system has a *much greater* potential for more widespread and more severe flooding/debris flows in SoCal,” Daniel Swain, a scientist, said. Climate at UCLA, on X, formerly Twitter.
Impacts from the pair of storms include travel problems, mudslides, energy problems, coastal erosion, and property damage.
Much of Northern California saw 1 to 4 inches of rain from the first storm through Thursday morning, according to AccuWeather. By Thursday night, AccuWeather said “the bulk of the rain” was over in San Francisco and Sacramento.
Drier air will reduce rain and mountain snow through Thursday night and Friday, according to AccuWeather. But residents in Southern California from Los Angeles to San Diego may still face difficulties traveling at night as the worst of the rain moves inland.
Southern California faces heavy rains and flash flooding
The first storm hit the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday and then moved south on Thursday, arriving in Los Angeles in time to make the morning commute. National Weather Service Meteorologist Bob Oravec said the rain “will mostly target Southern California” on Thursday.
The Meteorological Service warned that heavy rains are expected to cause flash flooding in mainly local areas, with urban areas, roads, small streams and burn scars being most at risk.
Parts of Los Angeles County were affected Thursday by flash flooding, forcing drivers to travel on low-lying, water-filled roads. In Seal Beach, a coastal city in Orange County south of Los Angeles, flooding also occurred along the Pacific Coast Highway, causing portions of the highway to be closed.
In Costa Mesa, California, a fast-water rescue team pulled a person from a storm drain that had been filled with rainwater. The person was taken to the hospital in stable condition, the Orange County Fire Authority said X, formerly Twitter.
The fire department also rescued a man who was trapped on a small island in the Santa Ana River, surrounded by flowing water. A paramedic had to be flown in by helicopter to save the man.
The storm — which some forecasters likened to a “giant firepipe” — is expected to move south across California on Thursday evening before moving inland over the Southwest Friday into Saturday, AccuWeather said.
By Thursday afternoon, the weather service said the main band of rain had moved across eastern San Diego County. Rain falls from time to time during the day, and the winds will continue on Friday, and will be stronger on mountain tops and desert slopes.
According to the Los Angeles Weather Service, five daily rainfall records, set between 1940 and 1960, were broken across the region on Thursday.
A daily rainfall record of 2.37 inches was set at Los Angeles Airport, breaking the old record of 1.55 inches set in 1960. Santa Barbara Airport saw 2.93 inches of rain, also breaking the old record of 2.02 inches set in 1960.
What is Pineapple Express?
This storm is referred to as the Pineapple Express, the more familiar nickname for the atmospheric river, which occurs when the source of moisture is near Hawaii. When the Pineapple Express makes landfall in the western United States and Canada, it can bring heavy rain and snow. In California, it can cause several inches of rain per day.
Pictures from the storm:See how rain affects Ventura County on Thursday
Up to 4 feet of snow for the mountains
Snow levels in the Sierra Nevada are expected to fall throughout Thursday and into Friday. According to AccuWeather, motorists will likely have difficulty traveling through Donner Pass, California, as snow continues to fall into Thursday night before gradually tapering off to snow showers on Friday.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort in the Sierra Nevada reported 12 to 14 inches of snow overnight. Heavy snowfall was also recorded in the mountains east of Los Angeles.
The weather service office in Reno, Nevada, said a winter storm warning was in effect through Friday morning for the Sierra Nevada region, from north of Lake Tahoe to south of Yosemite National Park. Snowfall rates are expected to reach 2 inches per hour in some areas, with wind gusts reaching 100 mph.
A “stronger” storm is on the way
According to Swain, the second storm in the series is likely to be much stronger. According to Weather.com, the storm has the potential to bring heavy rain, landslides and rockslides as well as mountain snow and strong winds.
“The second storm originated near Hawaii and will likely have a true plume of tropical moisture associated with it,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Day Pedinowski said.
Additionally, due to the cumulative impacts from the two storms, travel issues and flooding from the second storm could be more extensive and much worse than those from the first, AccuWeather warned.
Contributing: The Associated Press
