Cali Recap: evacuations, floods, & more

Communities are under water, large trees have come down, and landslides have prompted evacuations as the atmospheric river events continue across California. While the long-term benefits are great considering the drought, the short-term issues are a lot to handle. At least fourteen people have passed due to these atmospheric river events.

Since December 31st, several atmospheric river events have occurred across the West, with California being the bullseye in this firehose of moisture. Heavy rain and snow have fallen since 2023 began, and in the last 10 days, Cali residents have had little to no recovery time in between the events.

In the last 72 hours, California has received between two and nine inches of rainfall. The most has been falling in the western foothills and along the coast. More than 10 inches of rain have been recorded since Saturday in the Santa Ynez Mountains in SoCal.

Flooded rivers and creeks are reaching over bridges, cars have been swept away in floodwaters, and many are stacking sandbags along their homes and businesses to keep the water from coming inside.

Worsening conditions as of Tuesday morning are being reported as more than 4,000 residents of Planada, in Merced County near San Jose, have been instructed to evacuate due to the rising floodwaters on local roads and highways.

In less than 24 hours, the Ventura River in SoCal reached much past its major flood stage by climbing from 8 feet to 25.02 feet by Monday afternoon.

As for the snow, the Sierras are up more than 200 percent above the normal amount for this time of year, with more than six feet accumulating since the weekend in the highest peaks – and it is only January! More is on the way through Wednesday. Read the latest forecast.

Gusty winds, severe thunderstorms, and downed trees have helped knock down powerlines. Police stations have had to order “shelter in place” notices due to downed live wires. Not to be outdone, Sacramento, the “City of Trees,” has had several downed large trees due to the gusty winds and the water-logged ground.

Many are waking up Tuesday morning in the dark as more than 200K customers are without power. Santa Clara County has around 30 percent of its customers without power. Not to be outdone, a semi-truck was knocked over by gusty winds and was hanging off the I-5 Bridge over the Yolo Bypass.

The entirety of Montecito is under an evacuation warning due to the mudslide risk – just five years after the devastating and deadly mudslides in the same area which took the lives of 23 people. More mudslides and landslides are expected across California, especially in and around burn scars, even after the storm passes due to the water-logged soil.

Weather & Radar has you covered throughout the season as the atmospheric river events continue. Make sure you have the latest version of the app and your notifications are switched “on.”