The West Coast is bracing for more flooding Sunday as heavy rains from an atmospheric river are forecast to spread into California starting Sunday, the latest in a series of storms to hit the state this month.
A milder storm moved over California’s north and central coast Saturday night, kicking off the rainy season for the nation’s most populous state. Forecasters said it was a precursor to a stronger system on Sunday that was expected to bring most of the rain.
“Sunday night and Monday alone, we’re looking at areas of three to six inches of rain down the coast south of the Bay Area to Santa Barbara,” said Brian Hurley, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
More than 37 million people across the country were under a flood watch on Sunday. Most were in California, where the watch was in effect until Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Atmospheric river is the name given to the narrow bands of moisture that are blown over the west coast by winds in the Pacific. It is the cause of the heaviest rainfall and flooding in California.
“Weather conditions will be drastically different Sunday morning through Sunday evening,” the National Weather Service said Sunday. “A strong storm will arrive today. Rain will start around noon and be heavy overnight. Moderate to severe impacts from this storm will continue into Monday with heavy rainfall, strong winds, heavy surf, thunderstorms and flooding.”
While the system was largely expected to be a rainmaker even in mountain communities, Mr. Hurley said, some areas above 6,800 feet, such as Mammoth Mountain in the Sierra Nevada, could get more than four feet of snow.
The California Office of Emergency Services announced Saturday that it had deployed emergency workers, including two rapid water rescue teams, to six counties ahead of the storm.
Bay Area cities, including San Francisco and San Jose, were expected to receive between one and two inches of rain, according to the San Francisco Bay Area office of the National Weather Service.
The system could bring hail and thunderstorms and wind gusts of 30 to 45 miles per hour to parts of the Bay Area and Central Coast on Sunday, the Weather Service said.
Further south, the risk of flooding was high in the coastal communities of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, northwest of Los Angeles.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said the region could expect two to five inches of rain, with up to eight inches in the mountains accompanied by damaging wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph at higher elevations and 20 to 40 mph at other points.
Officials in Santa Barbara County issued an evacuation warning for some areas on Saturday. The warning, which was in effect until Wednesday, called on residents to be prepared to leave immediately.
The city of Santa Barbara has announced it will offer free emergency parking in a downtown lot for residents in flood-prone areas.
Los Angeles was forecast to receive an inch and three-quarters to two inches of rain Monday night into Tuesday, Mr. Hurley said.
Although rainfall rates in Los Angeles were not expected to reach the levels of the devastating storm that hit the city two weeks ago, Mr Hurley said the damaged ground caused by that storm meant the area was not in “the best position’ to be absorbed. heavy rains.
