Another storm ripped through California on Friday, triggering floods and evacuation orders in several regions already hit by a particularly rainy winter in recent weeks.
Up to 23 centimeters of precipitation is expected in places. This rain, coming from a fairly warm depression, is likely to melt some of the exceptional snowpack that has accumulated over the past three months.
Because of this, it is impossible to contain the flow of the rivers of the state.
Rain on “soil saturated” with water from winter storms and on “thick snowpacks will cause significant flooding,” the US Weather Service (NWS) warned.
At high altitudes, snowfall over the mountains of northern California is expected to “impede traffic.”
U.S. President Joe Biden approved a state of emergency in California on Friday to ease federal state aid.
“California is using every means at its disposal to protect the public from the relentless and deadly storms that are hitting our state,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called for emergency assistance.
Numerous evacuation orders have been issued, especially in northern California where seven rivers are at risk of severe flooding.
In California, the most populous state in the country, winters are especially rainy. In particular, in January, a series of successive storms caused numerous floods, landslides and tree fall, killing 20 people.
– “Pineapple Express” –
The current storm, like most others this winter, is fed by an “atmospheric river,” a giant corridor of rain that carries water vapor stored in the tropics, often around Hawaii, earning it the nickname “Pineapple Express.”
“Stay home tonight if you can,” the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office near San Francisco tweeted.
The car was crushed by a fallen tree in the Redwood City area, but the driver and passenger are fine, according to the sheriff.
In eastern California, the Sierra Nevada mountain range has been covered in much thicker-than-usual snow for weeks.
Faced with fresh snowfall on Friday, several ski resorts in the region closed their doors. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the roof of a gas station collapsed under the weight of accumulated snow in South Lake Tahoe, sparking a fire.
Local firefighters told the newspaper that several similar incidents had taken place in recent days.
“No one was hurt in any of these incidents, which is remarkable,” said one of their managers, Kim George.
Further south, in the San Bernardino Mountains near Los Angeles, some villages are just starting to become accessible again after being cut off from the world for a few days, and for some villages even weeks.
Some residents expressed dissatisfaction with the slow repair, and last Saturday, one person even stole a municipal snowplow in Big Bear.
However, in the powder, he failed to cover his tracks: the car was equipped with a tracking device, and he was easily arrested by law enforcement officers.