California warned of major risk to life from atmospheric river: Latest

This “Pineapple Express” — called that because the atmospheric river’s plume of moisture stretches back across the Pacific to near Hawaii — was to arrive in Northern California on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy rains and strong winds were expected through the night into Sunday.

The storm is forecast to move south down the Central Coast and hit the Los Angeles area with downpours, flash floods and high-elevation mountain snow beginning Sunday morning. It is expected to strike farther south, in Orange County and San Diego, on Monday. Heavy to moderate rain is expected to stay in Southern California until Tuesday.

The National Weather Service forecasts 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15.2 centimeters) of rainfall across Southern California’s coastal and valley areas, with 6 to 12 inches (15.2 to 30.5 centimeters) likely in the foothills and mountains. Rainfall rates are expected to be 1/2 to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 centimeters) per hour, with locally higher rates. Forecasters predict mudslides, debris flows and flooding to occur.

In the mountains with elevation above 7,000 feet (2,134 meters), 2 to 4 feet (0.61 to 1.2 meters) of snow will likely fall.

Another potentially dangerous “Pineapple Express” storm was expected to hit California late Saturday, bringing the threat of flooding and mudslides over the next couple of days.

Californians spent Friday and Saturday preparing for what forecasters are saying could be the largest storm of the season, with the worst expected to hit Ventura and Santa Barbara counties on Sunday and Monday. Most of the state was under some sort of wind, surf or flood watch by Saturday afternoon.

The storm marks the second time this week the state will be pummeled by an atmospheric river, a long band of moisture that forms over the Pacific. The first arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday, delivering downpours and heavy snowfall that brought cable car service to a halt before moving south to Los Angeles and San Diego on Thursday.

Last winter, California was battered by numerous drought-busting atmospheric rivers that unleashed extensive flooding, big waves that hammered shoreline communities and extraordinary snowfall that crushed buildings. More than 20 people died.

California braced Sunday for the worst of a potentially dangerous storm that threatened to hammer parts of the state with hurricane-force winds and cause flooding and mudslides as it moves down the coast over the next few days.

“This storm is predicted to be one of the largest and most significant in our county’s history and our goal is to get through it without any fatalities or any serious injuries,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters Saturday.

Evacuation warnings and orders were in effect for Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura and Monterey counties. Classes were canceled Monday for schools across Santa Barbara County.

The storm, called a “Pineapple Express” because the atmospheric river’s plume of moisture stretches back across the Pacific to near Hawaii, arrived in Northern California on Saturday when most of the state was under some sort of wind, surf or flood watch.

By early Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a rare “hurricane force wind warning” for the Central Coast, with wind gusts up to 92 mph (148 kph) from the Monterey Peninsula to the northern section of San Luis Obispo County.

The storm was expected to move down the coast and hit the Los Angeles area with downpours, flash floods and high-elevation mountain snow on Sunday and to hammer Orange County and San Diego on Monday. Heavy to moderate rain was expected to stay in Southern California until Tuesday.

The National Weather Service forecast up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rainfall across Southern California’s coastal and valley areas, with up to 12 inches (31 centimeters) likely in the foothills and mountains. Forecasters predicted mudslides, debris flows and flooding to occur.

It is the second time in days that California has been hit by an atmospheric river, a long band of moisture that forms over the Pacific. The first arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday, delivering downpours and heavy snowfall that brought cable car service to a halt before moving down the coast.

The flash flood warning has been extended to include downtown Los Angeles.

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said that “changes to the previous outlook were to extend the high risk area farther to the east into the eastern portions of the Transverse Range where the upslope flow lingers longer than areas farther to the west,” according to Fox Weather.

“The high risk was also expanded south to cover all of Los Angeles County to the south of the Transverse Range as per coordination with (the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles),” they added.

“Life-threatening flash and urban flash flooding possible in the high risk area,” the WPC noted.

More than seven million sandbags have been prepared to stem the flow of the expected water flows, the director of the California Office of Emergency Services, Nancy Ward, told the press on Saturday.

Eric Schoening at the National Weather Service said, “This damaging flooding will be a threat to lives and property,” according to CNN.

The worst of the storm is expected to hit the state between Sunday and Tuesday.