California is set to be hit by even more rain and snow this week, with the normally balmy Los Angeles area set to be drenched.
The heavy rain and snowfall is expected to cause roof collapses, close some major highways in the state and even possibly cause some landslides.
It comes as over 13,000 people in the state remain without power and many remain trapped in their homes, surrounded by several feet of snow, unable to get food.
The massive storms in the state even resulted in 13 fatalities, as Gov. Gavin Newsom was enjoying sunny weather on vacation.
Meteorologists are now warning those near rivers and streams to take even more precautions ahead of the storm Thursday night, with another expected to follow in its wake as the state remains in a drought.
But frustrated residents hope the end of the wild weather is in sight, with one woman tweeting on Tuesday: ‘Whoever in California is praying for rain, can we please also put them on the world peace and cure for cancer teams?’
TWIN PEAKS, CALIFORNIA: Residents of San Bernardino County — just east of Los Angeles — remain trapped in their homes nearly two weeks after a devastating storm
OCEAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles area is set to be hit with even more rain in the coming days
One frustrated woman tweeted: ‘Whoever in California is praying for rain, can we please also put them on the world peace and cure for cancer teams?’
The next storm is set to hit California Thursday night into Friday, bringing a significant risk of flooding to the Golden State.
In central California, areas above 8,000 feet — including Yosemite National Park — could see an additional six feet of snow.
Coastal areas like Los Angeles could also see as much as six inches of rain over the coming days.
And in areas with deep piles of snow, the slush may absorb the new rainfall, causing massive snowmelt in some areas increasing the risk of flooding.
‘People living near rivers and streams should closely monitor water levels and be ready to move to higher ground if the threat of flooding becomes imminent,’ the National Weather Service office in Hanford warned.
‘If you live in a flood-prone area or near rivers and streams, now would be a good time to prepare and have an evacuation plan in place in the event high water becomes a threat to your safety.’
Urban areas may see some potential runoff issues, flooding some major highways in the area. The situation will be even worse in cities where storm drains are still clogged with snow following weeks of wild weather.
And adding to the dangers in Northern California are wildfire burn scars — such as those left behind from the Dixie and Caldor fires in 2021 — which can exacerbate runoff because they are known to have waxy soil that is water repellant and low vegetation.
That may cause issues like mudslides, landslides and debris flow in the snow-covered mountainous regions of the Sierra Nevada.
‘We haven’t had a big, warm atmospheric river atop a major snowpack in these regions, really, since we had these big wildfires,’ UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain explained to the Los Angeles Times.
‘So we might be doing some science experiments in real time over the coming couple of weeks.’
The next storm is set to hit California Thursday night into Friday, bringing a significant risk of flooding to the Golden State
Meteorologists blame the upcoming storm on an incoming low pressure system originating from the north that is expected to link up with ‘very warm’ subtropical moisture coming from Hawaii in a phenomenon known as the Pineapple Express.
‘We’re essentially transitioning from one storm track to another, where the moisture origins are coming from a warmer, juicier location,’ Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Center office in Sacramento said.
The odds of such a storm developing were at just 20 percent last week, the Times reports. But by Monday, the chances had increased to ‘seven or eight out of 10, if not higher, for a warm atmospheric river event of some magnitude,’ Swain said.
Forecasts now show that at least one more storm system could follow behind this week’s tempest.
‘There is some potential for greater flooding if we do get additional successive warm atmospheric rivers following the first,’ Swain said, noting: ‘There’s about a one in three possibility of that, so the odds are not that low right now.’
Yet, the US Drought Monitor reports that only 17 percent of California is now out of a drought because scientists define a drought based on a set of measurable conditions in the soil, atmosphere, plant life, rivers and reservoirs.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA: Joe Roop is seen trying to shovel snow in front of his rental property in preparation for a new tenant moving in on March 1
TWIN PEAKS, CALIFORNIA: Jessica Neakarse helps re-stock Mountain High Market after a series of winter storms dropped more than 100 inches of snow in the San Bernardino Mountains
TWIN PEAKS, CALIFORNIA: Richard Pelayo cleared snow from his driveway on Monday
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA: Many remained trapped inside their homes as emergency vehicles struggled to get through the snow-covered roads
But California has already been inundated by a series of harsh storms over the past few months, with nine hammering the state in just the first few weeks of January alone.
Those storms caused levee breaches, widespread flooding and nearly two dozen deaths across the Golden State.
More recent storms over the past two weeks have buried the Sierra Nevada mountains in 16 feet of snow, with snowfall totals for the area now standing at 48.33 feet, making it the snowiest season since 2010 – 2011, according to ABC News.
Businesses in the area, including some grocery stores, remain closed, with citizens on Monday saying they are growing increasingly desperate.
Derek Hayes, a resident of the nearby community of Cedar Glen, told CNN: People are getting desperate. They need medication. They need food for their children.’
Southern California mountain residents are also growing frustrated as the ongoing winter weather cleanup and efforts to distribute aid have been complicated by difficult travel conditions.
Janelle Hendrickson, who lives in Running Springs, told FOX 11 Los Angeles that the roads are ‘iffy… but they’re drivable’ as San Bernardino County officials say more than 80 percent of county-maintained roads are passable.
She said she had been told that if she tried to go to work, she likely would not be able to return home for two weeks.
Carol Kulvick, of Lake Arrowhead, also told how the food drop-offs have been six miles from her home, but the county said it was not responsible for plowing the access road she lives on.
‘The only help we are getting are [from] our mountain neighbors,’ she said. ‘They’re our heroes.’
Other residents such as Don Kendrick and Deanna Beaudoin were among many still stranded in their properties, with the pair only able to shovel out their car Sunday 12 days after the 9,000-strong community was first hit with the first snowfall.
For days, highways were closed to all but emergency vehicles as a shortage of tire chains had hampered authorities’ response and snow exceeded the capability of plows to clear the roads.
Crews then had to use earth-moving equipment and dump trucks to move the snow, as the National Guard sent search and rescue teams to check residences for anyone still stranded.
As of Tuesday, those crews have removed more than 7.2million cubic yards of snow from highways, which equals nearly 2,270 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to the governor’s office.
But Andrew Braggins, of Crestline, told the Associated Press most of his neighbors’ properties are still buried under the feet of snow.
He said he and his wife have been taking boxes of food from a distribution enter and delivering it to neighbors in need.
‘Wee have to climb over 10-foot snow berms and carry them through deep snow down 60-foot driveways,’ he said. ‘It’s exhausting.’
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA: Crews have removed more than 7.2million cubic yards of snow from highways, which equals nearly 2,270 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to the governor’s office
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA: Crews then had to use earth-moving equipment and dump trucks to move the snow
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK: Caltrans District 9 operators cleared snow from the road as Inyo Search and Rescue members search for a missing person near an area along Death Valley Road, a rough road running south of the 168, and leading into Death Valley National Park
As those residents were struggling, Gov. Gavin Newsom was on a ‘personal trip’ to Mexico, it was revealed Tuesday night after several cities had already seen snow for eight-straight days.
‘He returned to the state on Sunday, meeting with emergency personnel at the State Operations Center and receiving a briefing on current conditions,’ the governor’s office said in a statement.
According to the spokesperson, the brief saw the progressive politician receive ‘an update on winter storms and the state’s work to support disaster response and relief efforts’ from staffers in his office.
Staffers would proceed share a photograph of the late-night meeting, showing a pensive, baseball cap-clad Newsom sitting at a conference table listening to one of his staffers.
