Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news related to the rain event in California for Monday, February 5. For the latest weather news, view our live update file for Tuesday, February 6.
SAN DIEGO — It was the end of a powerful weather storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in California, drenching the state Monday with more heavy rain, mudslides, flooding and several feet of snow in the mountains.
The brunt of the storm's fury Monday was focused in the Los Angeles area, where 1.4 million people were under a flash flood warning — including the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills. A local state of emergency was issued for the City of Los Angeles by Mayor Karen Bass on Monday afternoon.
Across Southern California, the high winds that battered the region diminished Sunday, but the National Weather Service warned that an unstable weather pattern could generate water hoses or small tornadoes.
The weather service said flash flooding “poses a much greater threat than any weak tornado the storm may produce,” and dangerous flooding is likely across much of the region from the atmospheric river — the equivalent of a river in the sky responsible. For heavy rain and snow in the west.
Rainfall totals are expected to range from 5 to 8 inches in some areas, which would bring a 48-hour total of up to 14 inches in some locations, the weather service said. A state of emergency has been declared in eight Southern California counties.
“Life-threatening conditions may develop very quickly in some communities,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warned.
Developments:
∎ A debris flow caused major damage to about five homes in Beverly Hills on Monday, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Although no one is trapped, about 10 people have been displaced, LAFD said.
∎ The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that 1,000 firefighters responded to 49 mudslides and debris flows, 130 flood reports, six structure fires and other rescues of motorists stranded in vehicles.
∎ Los Angeles recorded more than 4 inches of rain on Sunday, breaking the record for the day by more than an inch. This was the heaviest single-day rainfall in more than 20 years, and exceeded the February average.
∎ The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am golf tournament in Monterey County, which postponed the final round from Sunday to Monday, canceled play Monday and declared Wyndham Clark the winner despite playing only 54 holes of the scheduled 72-hole tournament.
∎ Officials attributed three deaths to the storm. In Yuba City, 40 miles north of Sacramento, a man was killed when a redwood tree fell on him due to high winds, police said. Two other men were killed by falling trees Sunday in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento, and in Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz County.
He advised San Diego residents to remain vigilant
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued an evacuation warning for low-lying, flood-prone areas that were hit by heavy rains last week and flooded two weeks ago. Some areas outside the city have seen up to 7 inches of rain in the past two days.
“I understand the fatigue that must come from these repeated warnings,” Gloria said. “I realize that fatigue may be starting to set in. But I can assure you that this decision to issue this warning was not taken lightly. I ask everyone to remain prepared and vigilant.”
The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the entire county coast, which will remain in effect until 8 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service. A flood watch for the county will be in effect through Tuesday.
According to Gloria's office, approximately 160 families have been referred to temporary accommodation in hotel rooms.
Santa Barbara cancels evacuation orders
Evacuation orders for Santa Barbara County were canceled Monday after the worst storm hit the area overnight.
Officials had made an early recommendation to close schools in preparation for dangerous conditions, according to Camilla Barnwell, communications director for the Santa Barbara County Office of Education. The office said most schools across the province will open on Tuesday.
“There was some debris at one or two schools that needed to be removed,” Barnwell told USA TODAY. “The storm had barely subsided last evening, so they went out to the campus today to assess the damage…heavy trees had fallen, and one of the schools may have had some power outages.”
“Continuous rain” in Los Angeles as shelters help the city's homeless residents
Between 5 and 10 inches of rain fell in the Los Angeles area, and more rain is expected, the National Weather Service said. Monday was the third wettest two-day period on record downtown, said Dave Bruno, a meteorologist with the Los Angeles Weather Service.
Shelters are adding beds to the city's homeless, who number about 75,000 people.
Georgia Berkowitz, chief communications officer at The Midnight Mission, said there was “incessant rain.” She added that Midnight Mission, a Los Angeles-based human services organization, has opened its dining room for the shelter and is providing resources to people, including hot meals and 24-hour restrooms.
About 100 people came to The Midnight Mission “just to get out of the element,” Berkowitz told USA TODAY.
“Once your clothes get wet, it's over,” she said. “People freeze to the core.” “It's very strange that we have this wonderful climate in Los Angeles, but people are dying from radiation exposure, and they're dying on our streets all the time.”
The storm in numbers
∎ Rough calculations indicate that 5.6 trillion gallons of water have fallen across California over the past two days, according to FOX Weather meteorologist Greg Diamond.
∎ AccuWeather estimates that total initial damage and economic losses from the severe storms and record rains California experienced this week will range between $9 billion and $11 billion.
∎ The 11.87 inches that fell in 24 hours at the UCLA weather station was a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event. Technically known as a “1,000-year interval event,” according to meteorologist Jakob Feuerstein, a once-in-1,000-year rain event is a statistical way of expressing the probability of such a massive rainfall occurring in any given year in a period Certain. Location, according to NOAA.
Mud flows through multi-million dollar homes
Several multi-million dollar homes in the Hollywood Hills were damaged by mud, rocks and debris flowing through the area on Monday. City officials said 16 people were evacuated.
“I can't believe it. It looks like a river that's been here for years,” Kiki Mingus, of Studio City, California, said as water poured down her path at dawn Monday. “I've never seen anything like it.”
Wind and snow hammer Mammoth Mountain
The storm unleashed high winds and huge snowpacks in the mountains. The National Weather Service recorded a 125 mph wind gust at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area late Sunday. The same location received a storm total of 39 inches as of Monday morning.
Where is the storm headed next?
After it hits California on Monday, the storm's moisture will help feed heavy snow across the West and heavy rain into the normally barren Desert Southwest over the next few days, forecasters said. “Generally rainfall totals between 1-3 inches may result in some isolated flash flooding.” The National Weather Service said.
Flood warnings were in effect for parts of southern Arizona and southern Nevada due to the risk of heavy rain and flooding.
Climate change and El Nino conspire to fuel storms
Multiple weather and climate phenomena conspire to make these storms especially devastating. Warm waters provide energy for storms, and unprecedentedly high ocean water temperatures, likely caused by climate change, have been detected around the world. In addition, the Pacific Ocean also experiences the effects of El Niño, where weak trade winds reduce the rise of ocean waters to the surface and allow surface waters to burn in the sun and grow warmer. California, emerging from years of drought and wildfires, is particularly vulnerable to mudslides and flooding.
“Aerial River Fire Pipe Targets Los Angeles” chirp Meteorologist Ryan Mau. “The onslaught of this treacherous bomb tornado has just begun.”
A wind gust of 102 mph was recorded in the San Francisco Bay Area
In Northern California, the storm flooded streets and downed trees and power lines across the San Francisco Bay Area. rare Hurricane force wind warning deployed in the area, wind speeds exceeded 60 mph, and gusts of up to 102 mph were recorded in Marin County — the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane.
In the neighboring city of San Jose, first responders went to homes to warn residents of the danger of flooding and move unhoused people from riverbeds. They pulled travelers out of the windows of a car stranded by floodwaters and rescued several people and dogs from an island in the Guadalupe River after it was submerged by rising waters.
Weather alerts in the United States
The storm is the second after the explosion in days
The storm hit California just days after much of the state was drenched in up to 6 inches of rain due to the first storm in the “Pineapple Express,” so named because moisture builds up in the tropical Pacific Ocean around Hawaii and can roll across the ocean. The western coasts of the United States and Canada are bombarded with heavy rain and snow. The current storm is packing more moisture and flooding already saturated areas.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said the state had a record number of emergency assets responding to “a dangerous storm with serious, potentially life-threatening impacts.” These impacts included nearly 600,000 homes and businesses without power on Monday.
Threat of life-threatening floods:Heavy rain and strong winds hit California
Landslide hits Hollywood Hills
In the Hollywood Hills, the National Weather Service warned Monday of a “very dangerous situation unfolding” with landslides and flash floods threatening lives. Many families had to evacuate when a mudslide caused a gas leak. A neighborhood in Studio City was forced to evacuate after a slide severely damaged several homes. On the outskirts of Tarzana, three homes were engulfed in debris and firefighters helped evacuate residents.
Flooding and small mudslides were also reported in Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Malibu and Beverly Hills.
“Life-threatening flash flooding is ongoing and will continue into the early hours of Monday morning,” the weather service said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath urged residents near wildfire areas burning in the Topanga and Soledad valleys to get out before possible mudslides. The province established shelters for displaced people.
“If you have not already left, please gather your family, pets and medications and leave immediately,” Horvath said at a news conference on Sunday.
Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; Associated Press
