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Tag: floods and flooding

  • More rain is on the way for weather-beaten California, where storms have flooded communities and left at least 19 dead | CNN

    More rain is on the way for weather-beaten California, where storms have flooded communities and left at least 19 dead | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Storm-battered California – still reeling from weeks of deadly flooding, mudslides and rescues – is being hit with more rainfall over the weekend.

    An unrelenting string of atmospheric rivers – long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that can carry moisture thousands of miles – have turned communities into lakes, crippled highways and prompted thousands of evacuations, including earlier this week. At least 19 people have died as a result of the storms.

    Two more are pummeling the state this weekend.

    “This isn’t over; we must remain vigilant. Stay safe, make the necessary preparations, and limit non-essential travel,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “Floods, landslides, and storms don’t care who you are or where you live – it’ll hit you just the same. We have lost too much – too many people to these storms and in these waters.”

    More than 8 million people were under flood watches Saturday night across much of California’s central coastline, as well as the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.

    A marginal risk of excessive rainfall is in place along the California coast from San Francisco down through San Diego, as well as the mountain ranges of southern California, where up to 2 inches of additional rainfall could lead to flooding and mudslides, the National Weather Service said.

    Residents in Monterey County, on California’s Central Coast, were ordered to evacuate low-lying areas of the Carmel River Saturday afternoon. Sacramento County officials ordered residents of the Wilton area to flee – once again – due to an anticipated rise in the Cosumnes River.

    “People are fatigued about evacuation orders. People are fatigued by seeing those Caltrans signs saying ‘detour’ – they’re just fatigued generally,” Newsom said, speaking from a flood evacuation shelter at the Merced County Fairgrounds.

    President Joe Biden on Saturday approved California’s request for a disaster declaration, freeing up federal aid to supplement recovery efforts in areas of the state affected by storms, flooding and mudslides since December 27, the White House said.

    “This federal aid is key to recovery efforts so Californians can get back on their feet faster,” Newsom said in a tweet thanking Biden for approving the declaration.

    The first system of the weekend arrived at California’s coast Saturday afternoon and was expected to move inland, bringing heavy rain across the state “as another surge of Pacific moisture streams ahead of the main cold front,” the National Weather Service said.

    Lighter rainfall is expected to continue Sunday morning, before another “ramp-up” late Sunday into early Monday ahead of a second system, the weather service said.

    The new round of heavy rainfall comes after numerous areas already saw 50% to 70% of the amount of precipitation that they would usually get in a whole year in 16 days.

    San Francisco has recorded one of its top 15 wettest winters on record.

    Newsom said it was just weeks ago that authorities in Southern California extended a drought emergency to millions of residents. Now, the state is inundated with rain.

    “By some estimates 22 to 25 trillion gallons of water have fallen over the course last 16-17 days – the stacking of these atmospheric rivers the likes of which we’ve not experienced in our lifetimes,” the governor said. “The reality is this is just the eighth of what we anticipate will be nine atmospheric rivers.”

    Though this weekend’s rainfall totals will be less than in previous storms, the threshold for flooding is much lower now because the ground is too saturated to absorb any more water in many areas.

    “The challenges will present themselves over the course of the next few days rather acutely, particularly because everything’s saturated, particularly because the grounds are overwhelmed.” Newsom said. “What may appear less significant in terms of the rainfall may actually be more significant in terms of the impacts on the ground and the flooding and the debris flow.”

    Widespread rainfall totals through Monday will range between 2 to 3 inches along the coast and interior valleys, with 4 to 6 inches possible for the San Francisco Bay area and the nearby Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia mountains. This will likely lead to a few instances of flooding as well as mud, rock and landslides.

    River flooding is also a major concern, particularly around the Russian River in Northern California and the Salinas River near Monterey.

    Monterey County officials warned this week that flooding from the rising Salinas River could turn the area into an island and cut it off from essential services.

    To the east, in Merced County, crews rushed to place rocks in the Bear Creek area ahead of the storm’s arrival, worried that high-water conditions could continue to erode the levee and eventually lead to levee failure in the downtown area of Merced.

    National Guard troops, sheriff's office personnel and firefighters search for missing 5-year-old Kyle Doan Thursday near San Miguel, California.

    The storm is hampering the continued search for 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was pulled from his mother’s hands by rushing floodwater on Monday.

    “The water levels continue to rise in the area and the weather conditions are unsuitable for any type of search activity today … The search will continue when weather and conditions allow,” the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday.

    The child and his mother were on the way to school Monday when floodwater overwhelmed their SUV. The mother managed to remove Kyle from his car seat and held onto him but their hands slipped and they were separated.

    The mother was later pulled safely out of the water. But Kyle has not been found.

    Members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, and California Highway Patrol air units were looking for the boy. Troops from the National Guard were previously involved with the search but have since been released from the mission.

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  • California cleans up from one storm as it prepares for another | CNN

    California cleans up from one storm as it prepares for another | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Days after California was hit by “the most impressive storm in nearly 20 years,” the state – fully saturated in many places – is gearing up this weekend for yet another series of atmospheric river events, with flooding, hail, powerful wind gusts and even funnel clouds possible in spots.

    TRACK THE STORMS HERE >>

    Another round of heavy rain already is falling Saturday on the Golden State, where extreme drought fueled by the climate crisis has given way in recent weeks to massive flooding amid a catastrophic sequence of ultra-wet atmospheric rivers – long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that transport moisture thousands of miles. Recent storms have killed at least 18 people and left tens of thousands at a time without power.

    Over 25 million people again are under flood watches across much of California’s central coastline, as well as the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. Though this weekend’s rain tally will be lower than previous storms, the threshold for flooding also is much lower because the ground is fully saturated in many areas.

    “This atmospheric river is more progressive than some of the other atmospheric rivers that have occurred in recent weeks, which should help to limit the extent of the flooding potential,” the Weather Prediction Center said. “All that being said, just about all of California; from the coast and both the Shasta and Sierra Nevada on south to the Transverse Range feature soil moisture percentiles greater than 95%.”

    “Portions of the state have picked up 15-20+” of rain and >600% of normal rainfall in the last two weeks,” they added.

    And unfortunately, the rain chances don’t end there: Yet another storm will bring renewed rain chances and flooding to much of the state Sunday afternoon through Monday morning before drier conditions finally set in later next week.

    “A more intense surge of moisture is expected on Saturday ahead of a stronger Pacific storm system that will move inland through the day,” the prediction center said. “A broader slight risk of excessive rainfall is in place for both coastal northern California, where rainfall will continue from Friday, as well as upslope regions of the Sierra.”

    Rain and snow are also forecast to spread into the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West Saturday into Sunday.

    Widespread rainfall totals through Monday will range between 2 to 3 inches along the coast and interior valleys, with 4 to 6 inches possible for the San Francisco Bay area and the nearby Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia mountains. This will likely lead to a few instances of flooding as well as mud, rock and landslides.

    “Rain is a certainty with (rain chances at) 100% areawide and with deep moisture and ample rainfall expected, flooding once again becomes a concern,” the National Weather Service office in San Francisco said.

    San Francisco already has recorded one of the top 15 wettest winters on record with more than a month to go. If it does end up picking up 4 to 6 inches of rain over the next three days, the city easily will crack the top five.

    A slight risk of excessive rainfall – Level 2 out of 4 – alert is in place, mainly due to extremely wet conditions preceding the forecast rainfall and leading to increased flooding concerns.

    “Forecast soundings have been showing quite a bit of instability over the Central Valley behind the front later Saturday afternoon and into the evening with hail likely to accompany stronger storms, and maybe some funnel clouds,” the weather service office in Sacramento said.

    River flooding is also a big concern, especially around the Russian River in Northern California and the Salinas River near Monterey. “Plan on additional disruptions to travel and mountain recreation through the weekend as periods of heavy snow return to the Sierra,” the weather service office in Reno said.

    Very heavy snow is also forecast for the Sierra, with 1 to 2 feet possible on Saturday and an additional 2 to 3 feet through Monday. “Heaviest snowfall days will be Saturday and Monday with less intense snow showers in between,” the weather service office in Reno said.

    Strong winds will also accompany this system, gusting up to 40 to 50 mph in the Sacramento Valley and up to 60 mph in the mountains. This could lead to downed trees and power lines staked in now-extremely saturated soils.

    “The system will be packing a decent amount of south winds and a high wind watch is in effect for the mountains of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties – the same strong winds will move into Ventura and LA counties Saturday evening,” the weather service office in Los Angeles said.

    The good news is that by week’s end, the forecast calls for much drier conditions across all of California, which will allow for the ground to dry out and river levels to recede.

    “It’s been a long time since California residents were happy to see an extended forecast of below-average precipitation,” CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller said. “But after the past three weeks, they certainly are.”

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  • ‘A very significant emergency’: California’s deadly, record-setting storms are about to get an encore | CNN

    ‘A very significant emergency’: California’s deadly, record-setting storms are about to get an encore | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The historic storms devastating much of California have turned entire neighborhoods into lakes, unleashed sewage into floodwater and killed at least 18 people.

    And there’s more to come. About 5 million people were under flood watches Wednesday as yet another atmospheric river is bringing more rain to California.

    “The state has been experiencing drought for the last four years, and now we have storm upon storm,” California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis said Wednesday.

    “We’ve had six storms in the last two weeks. This is the kind of weather you would get in a year and we compressed it just into two weeks.”

    It had already been “one of the deadliest disasters in the history of our state,” Brian Ferguson, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services spokesman said Wednesday before the 18th death was reported.

    “Yesterday, we had perhaps more air rescues than we’ve ever had on any other single day in the state’s history,” Ferguson said, adding that the Golden State is not out of the woods yet.

    “While there is a bit of a break today, we continue to see additional storms prepared to come onshore in the next two days,” he said. “We’re continued to be concerned about our streams, our culverts and some of the areas that are prone to mudslides, particularly along our central coast.”

    The flood watches Wednesday are primarily in Northern and Central California, including Sacramento, the North Bay and Redding. That barely leaves enough time for residents in flood-ravaged neighborhoods to assess the devastation before the next storm.

    “It’s just brown water everywhere. And it’s just rushing through – it was going fast,” Fenton Grove resident Caitlin Clancy said.

    “We had a canoe strapped up, that we thought if we needed to, we could canoe out. But it was moving too fast.”

    The onslaught of recent storms came from a parade of atmospheric rivers – long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that can carry moisture thousands of miles.

    “We have had five atmospheric rivers come into California over two weeks,” Kounalakis said.

    “Everything is wet. Everything is saturated. Everything is at a breaking point, and there is more rain coming.”

    In fact, four more atmospheric rivers are expected to hit California in the next 10 days.

    Residents scramble to collect belongings Wednesday before floodwater rises in Merced, California.

    Here’s what’s in store as another round of ferocious weather barrels down on the West Coast:

    • The heaviest rain over the next seven days is expected in northern parts of California, where the National Weather Service predicts an additional 5 to 10 inches. On Wednesday, Northern California got a radar-estimated 1-2 inches of rain, with some higher elevations getting around 3 inches.

    • The rain shifted north Wednesday afternoon, giving Central California a brief pause. There’s a slight risk – level 2 of 4 – for excessive rainfall Thursday for the northwest coast, and a marginal risk – level 1 of 4 – along the Pacific Northwest coast.

    • Precipitation pushed inland to the Sierra Nevada Wednesday afternoon, dumping more snow. Snow was still falling Wednesday evening.

    Another round of atmospheric moisture is expected to come onshore Friday, but less severe than earlier ones. A slight risk for excessive rainfall has been issued for the northwest coast of the state, with a marginal risk south, including the hard-hit Bay Area and San Luis Obispo.

    Rescue crews in San Luis Obispo County are scrambling to find 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was swept away from a truck near the Salinas River Monday morning.

    Kyle Doan, 5, was last seen Monday in San Miguel, San Luis Obispo County.

    National Guard members arrived Wednesday to help with the search, and more will be arriving Thursday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet Wednesday.

    The sheriff’s office earlier urged the public to leave the search operation to the professionals to avoid the risk of volunteers needing to be rescued themselves.

    As another storm looms, many residents are still grappling with devastation to their communities.

    Rachel Oliviera used a shovel to try to push out some of the floodwater and thick mud enveloping her Felton Grove home.

    “It’s backbreaking labor,” Oliviera said, visibly emotional.

    But she was more concerned about her neighbors, whose homes were also covered in thick mud.

    “A lot of us that live here in the neighborhood are elderly, and can’t actually physically do the cleanup.”

    In the Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth, several people had to be rescued after a sinkhole swallowed two vehicles Tuesday. In Malibu, a massive boulder came crashing down, shutting down a key roadway.

    In parts of Santa Barbara County, “the storm caused flows through the sewer system to exceed capacity, resulting in the release of sewage from the system to the street,” County Supervising Environmental Health Specialist Jason Johnston said Monday evening.

    The local health department warned the water could increase the risk of illnesses.

    Another sinkhole was reported Monday in Santa Barbara County’s Santa Maria, where 20 homes were evacuated, CNN affiliate KEYT reported.

    “The storms hit us like a water balloon exploding and just dropped water down through our rivers and creeks. So it’s been this excessive amount of flooding – it’s been the cycles over and over again,” Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin told CNN.

    Hoppin said 131 homes in the county received significant damage, but could be salvaged, while five others are not salvageable.

    Trees have been toppling, claiming lives and causing property destruction and roadway obstructions. Sacramento officials estimate that about 1,000 trees have fallen since New Year’s Eve, Sacramento Department of Public Works spokeswoman Gabby Miller told CNN on Wednesday, adding that staff and crews have been working around the clock on cleanup.

    In San Francisco, the public works department has logged about 1,300 tree-related incidents, which include downed trees, but also just limbs and branches, according to Rachel Gordon, director of policy and communications at San Francisco Public Works.

    Parks that are home to some of the state’s iconic redwoods haven’t been spared, according to California State Parks spokesperson Adeline Yee.

    “At Redwood National and State Parks and Big Basin Redwood State Park, we’ve seen some downed trees that are blocking roads and trails,” Yee said. “At this time, most of the trees that have come down are not the old-growth redwoods.”

    In the state park system, 54 park units were closed as of Wednesday morning, and 38 were partially closed.

    The recent atmospheric river storm system also has left dozens of state travel routes inoperable, and at least 40 are closed, according to Caltrans spokesman Will Arnold.

    “Caltrans has activated our 12 Emergency Operations Centers throughout the state and more than 4,000 crews are running 24/7 maintenance patrols for road hazards like downed trees, flooded roads, mudslides/rockslides,” Arnold said.

    The recent storms turned fatal after trees crashed onto homes and cars, rocks and mud cascaded down hillsides and floodwater rapidly rose.

    At least 18 people have died in California storms in just the past two weeks. The latest victim was a 43-year-old woman, whose body was recovered Wednesday from inside a vehicle that had been washed into a flooded Sonoma County vineyard, officials said. Divers found the vehicle submergd in 8 to 10 feet of water.

    “That’s more than we’ve lost in the last two years of wildfires,” the lieutenant governor said. “So this is a very significant emergency.”

    Rebekah Rohde, 40, and Steven Sorensen, 61, were both found “with trees on top of their tents” over the weekend, the Sacramento County Coroner said. Both were unhoused, according to the release.

    In the San Joaquin Valley, a tree fell on a pickup truck on State Route 99 in Visalia on Tuesday, killing the driver. A motorcyclist also died after crashing into the tree, the California Highway Patrol said.

    Another driver died after entering a flooded roadway in Avila Beach Monday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said.

    “It only takes six inches of water to lose control of a car to be knocked over. In 12 inches, cars start floating away,” Kounalakis said this week.

    “You’ve heard that creeks that have risen 14 feet just in the last day and in certain areas we’ve had over a foot of rain – just in the last 48 hours. So it is unbelievable.”

    Rescue crews help stranded residents Tuesday in Merced, California.

    Several areas across the state have registered 50% to 70% of their average annual rainfall just since the parade of atmospheric river events began to impact the state on December 26, according to the National Weather Service. Oakland got 69% of its annual average, Santa Barbara 64%, Stockton 60%, and downtown San Francisco 59%.

    Downtown San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Barbara have each gotten more than a foot of rain, according to the NWS.

    Though none of the coming storms are expected to individually be as impactful as the most recent ones, the cumulative effect could be significant in a state where much of the soil is already too saturated to absorb any more rain.

    And the state’s ongoing drought has parched the landscape so much, the soil struggles to absorb the incoming rainfall – which can lead to dangerous flash flooding.

    Scientists have warned the climate crisis is having a significant effect on California’s weather, increasing the swings between extreme drought and extreme rain.

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  • Thousands urged to flee their homes as storm wallops California, closing down roads, prompting water rescues and leaving 1 dead | CNN

    Thousands urged to flee their homes as storm wallops California, closing down roads, prompting water rescues and leaving 1 dead | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A powerful storm battering California has forced thousands to evacuate – including an entire community – and prompted dozens of water rescues as floodwater inundated roadways, swept away vehicles and caused widespread damage.

    Streets turned into rivers, trees came crashing down, homes lost power, rivers swelled and major roadways were shuttered as the storm unleashed powerful winds and heavy downpours. Parts of the Pacific Coast Highway, a key sea-side California highway, were closed in Southern California due to the flooding, officials said.

    One driver died after entering a flooded roadway in Avila Beach, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.

    Elsewhere in the county, a 5-year-old child was swept away in flood waters near the Salinas River in San Miguel Monday morning. The hourslong search for the child was suspended in the afternoon “because the weather had become too severe and it was not safe anymore for first responders to be conducting the search,” San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Tony Cipolla told CNN.

    More than 34 million people were under flood watches early Tuesday after parts of the central California coast received 1 to 1.25 inches of rain per hour Monday, the Weather Prediction Center said.

    As of late Monday, 2 to 7 inches of rain had fallen across lower elevations and up to 10 inches in the mountains over a 24-hours period, preliminary rainfall reports showed. Montecito received a whopping 9.89 inches over 24 hours, while Fillmore got 6.24 inches and Santa Barbara got 6.13 inches.

    The threat isn’t over yet. The storm is trekking South, shifting the risk of mudslides, flooding and severe storms to the Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and Los Vegas areas on Tuesday.

    More than 30 million people across the Southwest were under a marginal threat of severe weather Tuesday.

    “Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds and perhaps a brief tornado may occur today across parts of southern/central California,” warns the Storm Prediction Center. “Thunderstorms capable of isolated severe gusts will also be possible across parts of southeast Nevada, northwest Arizona, and southwest Utah.”

    In central California, heavy downpours unleashed significant flooding, mudslides and debris flows, prompting calls for residents to flee.

    The entire community of Montecito in Santa Barbara County was ordered to evacuate Monday, along with residents in parts of Carpinteria, Summerland and the City of Santa Barbara.

    “LEAVE NOW! This is a rapidly evolving situation,” Santa Barbara County officials said. Officials warned residents to “be prepared to sustain yourself and your household for multiple days if you choose not to evacuate.”

    Montecito – locked between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean – received the evacuation orders on the five-year anniversary of a mudslide in 2018 that killed 23 people as mud and boulders the size of houses plowed down the Santa Barbara hillsides, splintering more than 100 homes and rupturing a gas main, according to the state’s Office of Emergency Services.

    Video from CNN affiliate KEYT showed cars traversing flooded streets as water raged in a nearby creek in Montecito and mud oozed down a hillside.

    Santa Barbara city officials reported dangerous road conditions with numerous roadways impacted by boulders, debris and flooding.

    Farther north in Santa Clara County, about 32,000 people were under evacuation orders Monday afternoon and more people could be asked to leave Tuesday.

    In nearby Santa Cruz County, Felton resident Rachel Oliveira said she chose to stay home as water from the nearby San Lorenzo River rose, flooding her home.

    “It just came really quick,” Oliveira said. “Like within a matter of minutes it was from across the street all the way into our yard and it went really fast.”

    The storm is the latest in an unrelenting parade of atmospheric rivers to plague the West Coast in recent weeks, leaving California soils too saturated to absorb any more rain, and setting the stage for intense flooding and mudslides.

    Warning that with the “worst of it still in front of us,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday asked the White House for an emergency declaration to support response and recovery efforts. President Joe Biden later approved the declaration.

    A Caltrans worker directs traffic at a freeway entrance as the U.S. Freeway 101 is closed near Montecito, California, Monday.

    Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown asked county residents to shelter in place Monday evening as travel became a nightmare with rockslides, flooded roads and closed highways.

    Crews in Santa Barbara County have responded to more than 200 incident calls due to the heavy rains, according to Captain Scott Safechuck, spokesperson for a Santa Barbara County Incident Management Team.

    Around 10 to 15 homes were damaged due to flooding in the county on Monday, according to Santa Barbara County Fire, which released images showing a flooded neighborhood and a sinkhole that developed.

    To the north, Santa Cruz County saw widespread damage, according to images from Cal Fire. The San Lorenzo River swelled 14 feet in just over four hours Monday morning as heavy rain pounded the region, putting the river in major flood stage.

    Fast moving water in Santa Cruz knocked out a bridge and flooded state parks, video showed.

    A view of damage on the road after heavy rain in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Silicon Valley in California Monday.

    The National Weather Service reported a “possible levee breach” along the Pajaro River Monday morning and warned of “life threatening flash flooding.”

    Meanwhile, farther south in San Luis Obispo County, authorities urged residents south of the Arroyo Grande Creek Levee to evacuate to higher ground immediately Monday evening.

    The deluge prompted numerous water rescues throughout the state Monday, as rising waters trapped drivers.

    In Southern California, at least 18 people were rescued by Ventura County Fire Department, including multiple people who were stranded on an island in the Ventura River, fire officials said.

    As the rainfall intensified Monday night, officers in Ventura County’s Moorpark were working to rescue stranded drivers on State Route 126, according to the California Highway Patrol. State Route 126 was closed from Fillmore City limits to Fairview Canyon.

    In Monterey County in central California, the sheriff’s office and the Coast Guard rescued two people and a dog who were trapped by flood waters, the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook.

    Ahead of the storm’s arrival, California Emergency Services Director Nancy Ward warned that “floods kill more individuals than any other natural disaster.”

    “We’ve already had more deaths in this flood storm since December 31 than we had in the last two fire seasons of the highest fire acreage burned in California,” Ward said during a news conference Sunday.

    In an aerial view, floodwaters fill fields Monday in Santa Rosa, California.

    The rains dropped into Southern California Monday night, threatening flash flooding and mudslides from Los Angeles to San Diego – particularly across fire-scarred areas.

    Flash flooding will be likely in many areas in and around Los Angeles through much of the day, tapering off in the late afternoon and evening. Parts of downtown Los Angeles have already seen between 1-3 inches of rainfall with the higher elevations around the city seeing 2-5 inches by early Tuesday.

    While storm-battered areas of central and Northern California will see some respite from the heavy rains early Tuesday, “it will be short lived as the next in the seemingly never ending parade of strong wet Pacific systems pushes more heavy precipitation across all of California on Tuesday,” the National Weather Service warned.

    The additional heavy rainfall on Tuesday is expected to exacerbate ongoing flooding, according to the Weather Service.

    “Nearly all of California has seen much above average rainfall totals over the past several weeks, with totals 400-600% above average values,” the Weather Service said. “This has resulted in nearly saturated soils and increasingly high river levels.”

    Downtown Santa Barbara received 6.37 inches as of early Tuesday – the wettest day on record for the downtown area.

    San Luis Obispo McChesney Field also had its wettest day on record, with daily rainfall of 4.10 inches surpassing the previous record of 3.68 inches. Meanwhile, Moorpark had its second rainiest day on record with 4.02 inches.

    The rain is expected to wind down Tuesday night across much of the state, before another batch of heavy precipitation moves into Northern California and the coastal Pacific Northwest Wednesday.

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  • 90% of Californians are under flood watches as another storm threatens mudslides, power outages and deadly inundation | CNN

    90% of Californians are under flood watches as another storm threatens mudslides, power outages and deadly inundation | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Much of California can’t soak up another drop of rain. Yet the state is getting pummeled again with torrential downpours and ferocious winds, causing power outages and treacherous travel conditions.

    More than 34 million Californians were under a flood watch Monday – about 90% of the state’s population and 10% of the US population.

    Parts of the central California coast got walloped with 1 to 1.25 inches of rainfall per hour, the Weather Prediction Center said. Extensive rainfall there Monday triggered significant flooding, mudslides, debris flows and closed roadways.

    Widespread rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches have been observed from just south of San Francisco to just north of Los Angeles. Isolated amounts of 6 to more than 10 inches have been observed in the higher terrain near the coast.

    As the rain shifted slowly to the south Monday toward Los Angeles, the National Weather Service there warned of the risk of flooding, debris flow in land scarred by recent wildfires and an increased risk of rock and mudslides in mountains and on canyon roads.

    And hurricane-force wind gusts topping 74 mph thrashed states across the western US. More than 37 million people were under wind alerts Monday in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming.

    A 132-mph wind gust lashed Oroville, California. Residents in Washoe City, Nevada, were hit with a 98-mph gust, the Weather Prediction Center said.

    TRACK THE STORMS

    “Expect widespread power outages, downed trees and difficult driving conditions,” the National Weather Service in Sacramento tweeted. “Now is the time to prepare if you have not already!”

    Almost 92,000 homes, businesses and other power customers had no electricity Monday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.

    And the central California coast could be at risk of a tornado, CNN Meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

    The severe weather is part of a relentless parade of atmospheric rivers slamming the West Coast.

    California is now extremely vulnerable to flooding because much of the state has been scarred by historic drought or devastating wildfires – meaning the land can’t soak up much rainfall.

    And after an onslaught of storms since late December led to deadly flooding, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Sunday: “We expect to see the worst of it still in front of us.”

    Two bouts of major rainfall are expected to hammer the West Coast over the next few days – without much of a break between events for the water to recede.

    The system is part of an atmospheric river – a long, narrow region in the atmosphere that can transport moisture thousands of miles, like a fire hose in the sky.

    The atmospheric river slamming California on Monday could result in a 1-in-50 year or 1-in-100 year rainfall event near Fresno, the Weather Prediction Center said.

    A moderate risk – level 3 of 4 – of excessive rainfall covers over 26 million people in California, including in San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Fresno, where rain could fall at 1 inch per hour.

    Owners of a restaurant in Aptos, California, place sandbags in front of their establishment Monday.

    The San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz County has risen 14 feet in just over four hours and is in major flood stage. Parts of the county will experience “widespread flooding at shallow depths,” and the city of Santa Cruz will have serious flooding, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US Geological Survey.

    The threat will shift further south Tuesday, with a level 3 of 4 risk centered over Los Angeles.

    “While some of the forecast rain totals are impressive alone, it is important to note that what really sets this event apart are the antecedent conditions,” the National Weather Service office in San Francisco said.

    “Multiple systems over the past week have saturated soil, increased flow in rivers and streams, and truly set the stage for this to become a high impact event.”

    In Sacramento County, officials warned “flooding is imminent” and issued evacuation orders for the Wilton community near the Cosumnes River before roads become impassable.

    Wilton residents also had to evacuate during last week’s storm, when exit routes flooded quickly, officials said.

    A man wades through a flooded street in Aptos Monday.

    El Dorado, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara and Alameda counties have issued evacuation warnings or recommendations for some areas due to possible flooding and other safety risks as forecasters warned of swelling rivers.

    Residents in all all areas of Montecito, parts of Santa Barbara and Summerland are being ordered to evacuate immediately due to the threat of the ongoing storm, the local fire department announced Tuesday.

    Montecito is a haven for the rich and famous, including Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Degeneres. Monday marks exactly five years since heavy rains in the area caused deadly mud- and landslides.

    Santa Barbara County authorities are advising residents to “be prepared to sustain yourself and your household for multiple days if you choose not to evacuate, as you may not be able to leave the area and emergency responders may not be able to access your property in the event of road damage, flooding, or a debris flow.”

    A section of a parking lot sits sunken Sunday after a storm at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California.

    Newsom on Sunday asked the White House for an emergency declaration to support response and recovery efforts.

    “We are in the middle of a deadly barrage of winter storms – and California is using every resource at its disposal to protect lives and limit damage,” Newsom said in a statement. “We are taking the threat from these storms seriously, and want to make sure that Californians stay vigilant as more storms head our way.”

    San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Monday issued a Local Proclamation of Emergency due to the ongoing series of winter storms that began New Year’s Eve, according to a news release from his office.

    This storm system arrives on the heels of a powerful cyclone that flooded roads, toppled trees and knocked out power last week to much of California. Earlier, a New Year’s weekend storm system produced deadly flooding.

    At least 12 Californians have died from “storm-related impacts” such as flooding since late December, the governor’s office said.

    In San Luis Obispo County, dive teams from the sheriff’s office and Cal Fire rescuers were searching Monday for a 5-year-old child reported to have been swept away in flood waters near the Salinas River in San Miguel.

    “Floods kill more individuals than any other natural disaster,” California Emergency Services Director Nancy Ward said Sunday. “We’ve already had more deaths in this flood storm since December 31 than we had in the last two fire seasons of the highest fire acreage burned in California.”

    Flood-related deaths can happen when drivers attempt to cross standing water.

    “Just a foot of water and your car’s floating. Half a foot of water, you’re off your feet. Half foot of water, you’re losing control of your vehicle,” Newsom said.

    “We’re seeing people go around these detours because they don’t see any obstacles – they think everything is fine, and putting their lives at risk or putting first responders lives at risk.”

    For anyone who doesn’t need to travel during the peak of this storm, “please don’t,” California Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot said. “Be prepared for power outages and other interruptions. Have those flashlights, the candles, batteries, charge cell phones at the ready.”

    Already, flooded roads, toppled trees and downed power lines are making travel difficult, California Highway Patrol said. Some fallen trees crushed cars and homes over the weekend. On Monday, portions of the Pacific Coast Highway – US 101, a major north-south highway, were closed.

    The Santa Barbara Airport, a tri-county regional airport, is closed because of flooding airport officials said Monday.

    Crane operator Ricky Kapuschinsky prepares to lift uprooted trees Sunday in Sacramento, California.

    California is experiencing “weather whiplash,” going from intense drought conditions to now contending with its fifth atmospheric river, Newsom said.

    Much of the state has already seen 5 to 8 inches of rain over the last week. Two to 4 more inches of rain are expected across the coasts and valleys – and even more in mountains and foothills through Tuesday.

    Rising from swelling rivers could spill over and inundate communities.

    The rainfall over the weekend brought renewed flood concerns for streams, creeks and rivers. The Colgan Creek, Berryessa Creek, Mark West Creek, Green Valley Creek and the Cosumnes River all have gauges that are either above flood stage or expected to be in the next few days.

    “The cumulative effect of successive heavy rainfall events will lead to additional instances of flooding. This includes rapid water rises, mudslides, and the potential for major river flooding,” the National Weather Service said Monday.

    The moisture is expected to sink southward Monday night, making flooding “increasing likely” over the Southern California coastal ranges Tuesday, the weather service said. Fierce winds are expected to accompany the storm as it pushes inland.

    “Valley areas will likely see gusts as high as 45-50 mph, with gusts greater than 60 mph possible in wind prone areas,” the National Weather Service in Reno said. The Sierra Ridge could receive peak gusts between 130 to 150 mph Monday.

    For those at higher elevations, intense snow and ferocious winds will be the biggest concerns.

    Parts of the higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada have gotten more than 100” – or 8.3 feet – of snow in just the past few weeks, the Weather Prediction Center said.

    Now, another 6 feet of snow is expected in some parts of the Sierra.

    As the storm pushes inland, more than 5 feet of snow could fall along the Sierra Crest west of Lake Tahoe, the weather service said.

    The heavy snow and strong winds could lead to near whiteout conditions on roads.

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  • More extreme weather on tap for California as series of atmospheric river events arrive | CNN

    More extreme weather on tap for California as series of atmospheric river events arrive | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    California has been battered by heavy snow, damaging winds and flooding this week – and now another round of storms is set to hit the West Coast this weekend.

    “Relentless parade of cyclones from the Pacific will bring more flooding rains and mountain snows to the West Coast with main focus across northern California,” the Weather Prediction Center said Saturday.

    Multiple storms will reach the West Coast over the next few days. The concern is not just the rain, snow and wind, but there will be not much of a break in between events for the water to recede or cleanup to be completed.

    “We do expect an even stronger storm to impact the state Sunday night through Tuesday than the one we will see early on this weekend,” said Matt Solum, Meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Western Region Headquarters. “We encourage everyone to take the time over the weekend to make any needed preparations for the next storm coming in.”

    The next storms come on the heels of a powerful cyclone which flooded roads, toppled trees and knocked out power to most across California. Earlier, a New Year’s weekend storm system also produced flooding.

    This weekend the main concerns for the coastal communities will be widespread flooding, gusty winds, and dangerous beach and marine conditions. In the higher elevations it will be heavy snow and strong winds leading to near whiteout conditions for anyone traveling on the roads.

    TRACK THE STORMS HERE >>>>

    Winds are forecast to be around 40-50 mph in the valleys and up to 70 mph in the mountains, which is lower than the storm earlier this week, but still nothing to brush off.

    “While these winds won’t be on the order of the previous/stronger system it really won’t take much to bring trees down given saturated conditions and weakened trees from the last event,” the weather service in San Francisco posted Friday.

    Even a 40 mph wind can do damage when the ground is so saturated from record rainfall earlier this week and the cumulative effect of the new rainfall expected this weekend.

    “Impacts to infrastructure include but are not limited to; river flooding, mudslides, power outages & snow load,” the prediction center said in a tweet.

    The most widespread concern over the next week will certainly be flooding thanks to several atmospheric river events. Atmospheric rivers are a narrow band of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere.

    The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, which monitors atmospheric river events, is now forecasting a level 5 atmospheric river event – the highest level possible – in the next several days. While the focal point of this event will be near Monterey and Big Sur, California, intense moisture will also spread into the surrounding areas of San Francisco and San Jose where a level 4 atmospheric river event is forecast.

    Earlier this week, San Francisco experienced its wettest 10-day period on record for downtown since 1871. So far they have had more than a foot of rain just since December 1, and the forecast calls for an additional 4-6 inches of rain in the next five days.

    Sacramento is also expected to see significant rainfall totals of 4-7 inches in the valleys and 6-12 inches in the foothills.

    “Additional rain on already saturated soils will contribute to additional flooding concerns across much of the state,” Solum told CNN. “There will continue to be an increased risk of rock slides and mud slides across much of the state as well.”

    More than 15 million people are under flood watches across the state of California this weekend. There is also a slight-to-moderate risk of excessive rainfall across much of northern and central California Saturday and Sunday. It increases to a more widespread moderate risk by Monday.

    The rainfall over the weekend will bring renewed concerns for local streams, creeks, and rivers. The Colgan Creek, Berryessa Creek, Mark West Creek, Green Valley Creek, and the Cosumnes River all have gauges either currently above flood stage or expected to be in the next few days.

    “Tuesday is probably the day where you’ll likely need to keep a really close eye on the weather as the potential for widespread flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and roadway and urban flooding will be at its highest during the next week as all the runoff and heavy precipitation comes together resulting in a mess,” the weather service office in Sacramento said.

    In addition to heavy rain, there will be significant amounts of snow across the higher elevations.

    “Snow totals are looking to be 1-2 feet with some of the higher elevations seeing 3 feet or more leading to significant travel impacts,” the weather service office in Sacramento said.

    We are currently under a La Niña advisory for the winter months before transitioning back to a more neutral pattern by the spring.

    El Niño and La Niña forecast patterns put out by the Climate Prediction Center give guidelines on what the overall forecast can be during a seasonal time period.

    “During a La Niña, typically the Pacific Northwest sees wetter than normal conditions and Southern California sees drier than normal conditions,” Marybeth Arcodia, a postdoctoral researcher at Colorado State University said. “This is due to the jet stream being pushed farther north and having a wavier pattern. “

    The problem is, Mother Nature hasn’t exactly been following the anticipated norms for a La Niña winter so far this year.

    “However, in the past three months, Oregon has been slightly drier than normal and California has been slightly wetter than normal (the opposite of what is expected),” Arcodia told CNN. While El Niño and La Niña patterns typically have a large influence on seasonal conditions in the West Coast, “there are always additional factors at play,” she added.

    One such factor has been multiple atmospheric river events pummeling California with intense amounts of moisture.

    “Atmospheric rivers typically form during the winter months and can occur during El Niños or La Niñas,” Arcodia said, noting their strength, frequency, and landfall location can be influenced by the larger patterns in the Pacific.

    Michael Tippett, a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, points out that the forecast patterns are not meant to be used on a day-to-day forecast scale but rather the entire season as a whole. This is why researching the patterns is so important.

    “There is an element of randomness that is not explained by the patterns,” Tippett told CNN. “This might help us understand why one year is different than the other.”

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  • Western Australia in grip of ‘devastating’ flood emergency, PM says | CNN

    Western Australia in grip of ‘devastating’ flood emergency, PM says | CNN

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    Reuters
     — 

    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday his government was ready to provide whatever support was needed to residents of Western Australia state as record-breaking floods isolated far-flung communities there.

    The crisis in the Kimberley – an area almost three times the size of the United Kingdom – was sparked this week by severe weather system Ellie, a former tropical cyclone that brought heavy rain to the vast region.

    Among the worst-hit locations was Fitzroy Crossing, a town of around 1,300 people where supplies were being airlifted in due to the flooding, which authorities have said is the state’s worst on record.

    Albanese said his Labor government was “working constructively” with the Western Australia government on the crisis in the sparsely populated region that also includes the resort town of Broome.

    “These floods are having a devastating impact, many of these communities … are communities that do it tough, and the resources simply aren’t there on the ground,” Albanese told reporters in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state. “My government stands ready to provide whatever support is requested.”

    Western Australia emergency authorities said Australian Defence Force aircraft were being used to assist flood-hit communities, and Chinook helicopters were en-route to help relocated impacted residents.

    The nation’s weather forecaster said severe weather was no longer occurring in the state but that “the situation will continue to be monitored and further warnings will be issued if necessary.”

    The emergency in the country’s far northwest comes after frequent flooding in Australia’s east over the last two years due to a multi-year La Nina weather event, typically associated with increased rainfall. Some regions have endured four major flood crises since last year.

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  • Major storm leaves trail of destruction as it barrels across Central US with powerful tornadoes, flooding and heavy snow | CNN

    Major storm leaves trail of destruction as it barrels across Central US with powerful tornadoes, flooding and heavy snow | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A major, multi-hazard storm is leaving a trail of destruction as it barrels across the country on Tuesday and continues to bring the risk of strong tornadoes and flooding to the South, and ice and snow to the Plains and Upper Midwest.

    The storm, which triggered deadly floods in California over the weekend, has tracked east and is pulling moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the South, where above-normal temperatures have set the stage for severe thunderstorms.

    Nearly 30 million people are under some sort of severe weather threat in the South, with the highest risk near the Gulf Coast. Southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi and Alabama were under a level 3 out of 5 “enhanced” risk of severe weather. Places like Baton Rouge, Montgomery and Gulfport could all see strong storms. A level 2 out of 5 “slight” risk of severe weather covered Nashville, New Orleans and Atlanta.

    The National Weather Service began issuing tornado watches Tuesday morning for millions of people from Louisiana to Tennessee as temperatures warmed and conditions became more favorable for violent storms. Multiple waves of severe weather are possible in this region through the day, the Storm Prediction Center warned, “with the risk expected to persist well into the night across much of the area.”

    Track the storm: Radar, weather alerts, travel delays and more

    Strong tornadoes, large hail and wind gusts topping 70 mph are possible in the most extreme thunderstorms.

    “Severe convection with all three modes (tornadoes, hail and damaging winds) is likely,” the National Weather Service office in Mobile warned.

    Heavy rainfall associated with these thunderstorms could also trigger significant flash flooding across the South. Southeastern Alabama and Southwest Georgia are under a level 3 out of 4 “moderate” risk of excessive rainfall. Portions of Southeast Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia are also under a level 2 out of 4 “slight” risk of excessive rainfall.

    Rainfall totals could reach 2 to 4 inches across the South through Wednesday, while some areas could see up to 6 inches.

    Since Monday night there have already been several tornado reports. One of the tornadoes that was reported was in Jonesboro, Louisiana, where large trees were knocked downed and damaged. The other was reported in Haywood, Tennessee.

    Damage was also reported after a possible tornado in Jessieville, Arkansas, according to Garland County officials.

    “Damage was sustained to areas of (a) school due to trees, and power lines. The school was currently in session at the time, however all students have been accounted for and reports of no injury,” the Garland County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.

    Ashley Shaver says she's never seen flooding like this at her house in Fountain Hill, Arkansas. This area received around 3 inches of rain over the course of 12 hours, according to the National Weather Service.

    In Jackson Parish, Louisiana, residents were told to stay off the roads as the severe weather toppled trees and covered roadways with water. Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Department said tarps will be given out to those whose homes are damaged.

    “We are trying to work to get to houses that are damaged and clear roads,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

    As the risk persists, forecasters have been concerned about tornadoes forming at night, according to Brad Bryant of the National Weather Service office in Shreveport, Louisiana.

    “You can’t see them coming. A lot of the time, people are asleep and not paying attention to the weather,” Bryant said. “Many areas around here don’t have good cell phone coverage and storm alerts are not as effective in those areas, especially once people are asleep.”

    Anyone in areas at risk of tornadoes should seek safe shelter immediately, Bryant said.

    “If you wait around for a warning to be issued, it is too late,” Bryant said Monday. “You need to have a safe shelter plan in place in advance of these storms.”

    Damage reports were also coming from across northern Louisiana, including several transmission highline towers being damaged in the Haile community in Marion. One of the towers was knocked over and several others are damaged, according to the National Weather Service in Shreveport.

    A wind gust of 81 mph was reported in Adair, Oklahoma – a gust equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.

    As the South braces for floods and tornadoes, the storm continues to bring heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across the Plains and Upper Midwest on Tuesday, significantly impacting travel.

    Over 15 million people are under winter weather alerts from the Plains to the Great Lakes.

    Residents in parts of Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota are likely to see intense snow rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour.

    01 weather snow US

    National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD/Twitter

    Blowing and drifting snow on Tuesday may result in snow-covered roads and make it “hazardous, if not impossible” to travel, the weather service warned.

    Road conditions were already deteriorating Monday night in northwestern Iowa, northern Nebraska and eastern South Dakota, according to the weather service in Omaha. Portions of northern Nebraska have already reported nearly a foot of snow and could get an additional 12 to 18 inches on Tuesday, according to the weather service.

    Roughly 200 miles of eastbound Interstate 80 in Wyoming, from Evanston to Rawlins, are closed due to the ongoing impacts of the storm, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The department said westbound traffic is further blocked from the Rawlins section of I-80 to the Interstate-25 junction in Cheyenne, which covers more than 120 miles.

    “Snow (and) blowing snow to impact Wyoming roads into tonight,” an agency Facebook post read. “A high wind event will then create blowing (and) drifting snow, poor visibility and possible whiteout conditions Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon for sections of I-80, I-25, South Pass and various secondary roads!”

    “If you can, please stay home. If you must travel, ensure you have an emergency kit in your car,” the weather service in Sioux Falls told residents, saying travel will become difficult to impossible by Tuesday morning.

    A vehicle winter emergency kit includes snacks and water, a battery-powered weather radio, flashlights and batteries, a first aid kit, a shovel and ice scraper, a jumper cable and other items.

    Significant ice accumulations from freezing rain are expected, possibly over a quarter inch, from northeastern Nebraska through northwestern Iowa into southern Minnesota.

    The freezing rain poses a significant hazard to those on foot. Even a light glaze can make for slippery sidewalks and driveways. Accumulations more than 0.25 inches can cause scattered power outages and break tree limbs, the weather service says.

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  • Crews work to clear snow-covered roads for emergency responders in Buffalo after storm that left 31 dead in area | CNN

    Crews work to clear snow-covered roads for emergency responders in Buffalo after storm that left 31 dead in area | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Emergency services have been restored in Buffalo, New York, officials said, as crews continue to clear roads and first responders check on people they couldn’t reach days ago when a deadly winter storm swept the nation.

    At least 31 people have died in New York’s Erie County, where Buffalo was buried with nearly 52 inches of snow, trapping residents at home – many without heat as the Christmas weekend blizzard took out power lines. At least 25 others across 11 US states also have been reported dead in the storm.

    A driving ban remains in effect Wednesday in Buffalo amid a two-day effort to clear at least one lane on every street to accommodate emergency responders, according to the city and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. They’re still hampered, though, by hundreds of vehicles abandoned in the snow, hazardous driving conditions and snow-covered lanes, with emergency and recovery vehicles still getting stuck, Poloncarz spokesperson Peter Anderson said Tuesday.

    The county is bringing in 100 military police, plus New York State Police, to manage traffic control “because it has become so evident that too many people are ignoring the (driving) ban,” Poloncarz said. Officials also are working to coordinate deliveries of fuel to emergency crews and grocery supplies to markets, he said.

    “It’s the reason why you need to stay off the road in these impacted areas, because we need to be able to get those resources to where they need to be so that the shelves are in fact stocked and ready to go,” Poloncarz said.

    Meantime, Buffalo is bracing for possible flooding as rising temperatures being to melt the massive amount of snow and 2 inches of rain is forecast through the weekend. The flood risk is small, the National Weather Service said.

    For now, authorities are focusing on welfare checks and getting people to hospitals after hundreds of calls for help went unanswered as the storm slammed the area, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia has said.

    Amid the frigid, whiteout conditions, “people … got stranded in their vehicles and passed away in their cars. We have people that were walking during blizzard conditions and passed away on the street, passed away in snowbanks,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said. “And we have people that were found that passed away in their homes.”

    At least one reported death in Erie County has been attributed to an EMS delay, Poloncarz told CNN on Tuesday. “Our emergency responders could not get to the person because of the snow,” he said. “They were blocked, and by the time they got there it was too late.”

    This storm marked the first time the Buffalo Fire Department could not respond to emergency calls because of severe conditions, Poloncarz said, citing the agency’s historian. Two-thirds of the equipment dispatched to help clear winter snow during the height of the storm also got stuck, he said.

    The blizzard – which Gov. Kathy Hochul called a “once-in-a-generation storm” – has drawn many comparisons to Buffalo’s infamous blizzard of 1977 – a powerful storm that left 23 people dead.

    “The blizzard of ’77 is considered the worst storm in Buffalo history,” Poloncarz said Monday. “Well, unfortunately, this has already surpassed it for deaths.”

    Anndel Taylor, 22, was found dead in Buffalo over the holiday weekend after getting trapped in her car by the blizzard, her family said.

    After losing contact with her, the family posted her location to a private Facebook page related to the storm to ask for help, and a man called to say he had found her without a pulse, her sister said.

    The winter storm’s grim effects have been widespread, with at least 56 storm-related deaths reported across several states:

    • New York: In addition to the 31 deaths in Erie County, one fatal carbon monoxide poisoning was reported in Niagara County.

    • Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a building’s power transformer, possibly seeking warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.

    • Kansas: Three people died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Highway Patrol said Friday.

    • Kentucky: Three people died, officials have said, including one involved in a vehicle crash in Montgomery County.

    • Missouri: One person died after a van slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.

    • New Hampshire: A hiker was found dead in Franconia on Christmas morning, said Lt. James Kneeland, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

    • Ohio: Nine people died as a result of weather-related auto crashes, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75 when a tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.

    • South Carolina: Two men – including a 91-year-old who went outside on Christmas Day to fix a broken water pipe – died due to the storm in Anderson County, the coroner’s office there said. The other victim died on Christmas Eve after his home lost power.

    • Tennessee: The Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

    • Vermont: One woman in Castleton died after a tree fell on her home, according to the police chief.

    • Wisconsin: The State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

    A New York state trooper car blocks the entrance to Route 198 on Tuesday after a winter storm in Buffalo.

    With flooding possible in Buffalo, crews are focused on clearing key snowbanks, officials said. Still, “it should take around an inch of rain from this system before flooding becomes a concern,” the weather service said.

    City leaders are working with the National Weather Service “not only to reflect back on what happened this past week but also what potentially could come,” Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Daniel Neaverth said.

    All major highways across Western New York, including New York State Thruway, had reopened by Tuesday – “a sign that we are finally turning the corner on this once-in-a-generation storm,” Hochul said.

    Buffalo got another 1.6 inches of snow on Tuesday, bringing the total since Friday to 51.9 inches and the December total to 64.7 inches, the weather service said. Overall, Buffalo has gotten 101.6 inches this winter season, CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford said.

    Conditions are improving and the lake-effect snowfall has finally stopped, he noted. Warm temperatures are forecast for at least the next week, with Buffalo due for highs in the upper 30s on Wednesday and the 40s through the weekend.

    Officials also have responded to a few reports of looting. Eight people had been arrested in Buffalo through Tuesday evening in connection with suspected winter storm looting, according to a tweet from the Buffalo Police Department.

    “It is horrible that while residents of our community have died in this storm that people are out looting,” the mayor said, but noted, “This is a minority of individuals.”

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  • Devastating disasters and flickers of hope: These are the top climate and weather stories of 2022 | CNN

    Devastating disasters and flickers of hope: These are the top climate and weather stories of 2022 | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    From a small island in Polynesia to the white-sand beaches of Florida, the planet experienced a dizzying number of climate and extreme weather disasters in 2022.

    Blistering summer heat broke records in drought-stricken China, threatening lives and food production. In the United States, drought and sea level rise clashed at the mouth of the historically low Mississippi River. And in South Africa, climate change made rainfall that triggered deadly floods heavier and twice as likely to occur.

    Yet against the backdrop of these catastrophic events, this year also sparked some glimmers of hope:

    Scientists in the US successfully produced a nuclear fusion reaction that generated more energy than it used – a huge step in the decades-long quest to replace fossil fuels with an infinite source of clean energy.

    And at the United Nations’ COP27 climate summit in Egypt, nearly 200 countries agreed to set up a fund to help poor, vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters they had little hand in causing.

    “There was some encouraging climate action in 2022, but we remain far off track to meet our goals of reducing global heat-trapping emissions and limiting future planetary warming,” Kristina Dahl, principal climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told CNN. “There must be a stronger collective commitment and progress toward slashing emissions in 2023 if we are to keep climate extremes from becoming even more devastating.”

    Here are the top 10 climate and extreme weather stories of 2022.

    When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted in January, it sent tsunami waves around the world. The blast itself was so loud it was heard in Alaska – roughly 6,000 miles away. The afternoon sky turned pitch black as heavy ash clouded Tonga’s capital and caused “significant damage” along the western coast of the main island of Tongatapu.

    The underwater volcanic eruption also injected a huge cloud of ash and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, more than 30 kilometers (around 19 miles) above sea level, according to data from NASA satellites.

    At the time, experts said the event was likely not large enough to impact global climate.

    But months later, scientists found that the eruption actually belched an enormous amount of water vapor into the Earth’s stratosphere – enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The massive plume of water vapor will likely contribute to more global warming at ground-level for the next several years, NASA scientists reported.

    Mississippi River shipwreck jc

    Severe drought reveals incredible discovery at bottom of Mississippi river


    00:45

    – Source:
    CNN

    Searing temperatures, lack of rainfall and low snowpack pushed some of the world’s most vital rivers to new lows this year.

    Northern Italy saw its worst drought in more than 70 years. The 400-mile River Po hit a record low due to an unusually dry winter and limited snowpack in the Alps, which feeds the river. The drought impacted millions of people who rely on the Po for their livelihood, and roughly 30% of the country’s food, which is produced along the river.

    Also fed by winter snowpack in the Alps along with spring rains, Germany’s Rhine River dropped to “exceptionally low” levels in some areas, disrupting shipping in the country’s most important inland water way. Months of little rainfall meant cargo ships began carrying lighter loads and transport costs soared.

    Meanwhile in the US, extreme drought spread into the central states and gauges along the Mississippi River and its tributaries plummeted. Barge traffic moved in fits and starts as officials dredged the river. The Mississippi River dropped so low that the Army Corps of Engineers was forced to build a 1,500-foot-wide levee to prevent Gulf-of-Mexico saltwater from pushing upstream.

    President Joe Biden signs

    After more than a year of negotiations, Democrats in late July reached an agreement on President Joe Biden’s long-stalled climate, energy and tax agenda – capping a year of agonizing negotiations that failed multiple times.

    Biden signed the bill into law in August and signaled to the world that the US is delivering on its climate promises.

    Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin was influential in delaying the bill’s passage. Multiple White House and Biden administration officials for months had tried to convince the senator to support the bill over dinners in Paris and ziplining in West Virginia.

    An analysis suggests the measures in the bill will reduce US carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030 and would put Biden well on his way to achieving his goal of slashing emissions in half by 2030.

    01 Nicole Damage

    ‘We are in trouble here in Daytona’: Coastal homes collapse into the ocean


    01:00

    – Source:
    CNN

    Hurricane Nicole was the first hurricane to hit anywhere in the US during the month of November in nearly 40 years. The rare, late-season storm also marked the first time that a hurricane made landfall on Florida’s east coast in November.

    Although Nicole was only a category 1, it had a massive wind field that stretched more than 500 miles, coupled with astronomically high tides that led to catastrophic storm surge. Homes and buildings collapsed into the ocean in Volusia County, with authorities scrambling to issue evacuation warnings.

    Hurricane Nicole flooded streets, destroyed power lines and killed at least five people. The storm came just 42 days after deadly category 4 Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc on the west coast of Florida.

    Protesters demonstrate during the UN's COP27 climate conference in November in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

    Negotiators from nearly 200 countries agreed at the UN climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to set up a new fund for “loss and damage,” meant to help vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters. It was the first time wealthy, industrialized countries and groups, including longtime holdouts like the US and the EU, agreed to establish such a fund.

    “We can’t solve the climate crisis unless we rapidly and equitably transition to clean energy and away from fossil fuels, as well as hold wealthy nations and the fossil fuel industry accountable for the damage they have done,” Rachel Cleetus, policy director and lead economist for the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told CNN.

    Submerged vehicles in Jackson, Kentucky, in July. Between 8 and 10 inches of rain fell within 48 hours from July 27 to 28 across Eastern Kentucky. The month was Jackson's wettest July on record.

    The summer’s series of floods started off in Yellowstone National Park in June, when extreme rainfall and rapidly melting snow washed out roads and bridges in the park, causing significant damage to the nearby town of Gardiner, Montana, at the park’s entrance. Authorities had to rescue more than 100 people from the floods.

    The year also brought several 1,000-year rainfall events. A 1,000-year rainfall event is one that is so intense it’s only seen on average once every 1,000 years – under normal circumstances. But extreme rainfall is becoming more common as the climate crisis pushes temperatures higher. Warmer air can hold more moisture, which loads the dice in favor of historic rainfall.

    Deadly flooding swept through Eastern Kentucky and around St. Louis in July after damaging, record-breaking rainfall in a short period of time.

    California’s Death Valley, after a yearslong dry spell, saw its rainiest day in recorded history.

    Meanwhile, down south, parts of Dallas, Texas, got an entire summer’s worth of rain in just 24 hours in August, prompting more than 350 high-water rescues.

    UK Wildfires Record Heat

    Wildfires threaten London during record-breaking heat wave


    01:20

    – Source:
    CNN

    Europe experienced its hottest summer on record in 2022 by a wide margin. While the heat kicked off early in France, Portugal and Spain, with the countries reaching record-warmth in May, the most significant heat came in mid-July, spreading across the UK and central Europe.

    The UK, in particular, topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on record. Stephen Belcher, the UK Met Office’s chief scientist, said this would have been “virtually impossible” in an “undisrupted climate.”

    Throughout western Europe, the heatwaves gravely increased wildfire risk, with one London fire official noting that the 40-degree day led to an “unprecedented day in the history of the London Fire Brigade.”

    A bird flys above the beach at Lake Mead in Boulder City, Nevada on Sept. 11, 2022.

    As water levels drop at this major lake, bodies begin to appear


    03:19

    – Source:
    CNN

    The past few years have been a reality check for western states that heavily rely on the Colorado River for water and electricity. Plagued by decades of overuse and a climate change-fueled drought, the river that serves 40 million people in seven western states and Mexico is draining at an alarming rate.

    The water levels in its two main reservoirs – Lake Mead and Lake Powell – have plunged rapidly, threatening drinking water supply and power generation. In late July, Lake Mead – the country’s largest reservoir – bottomed out and has only rebounded a few feet off record lows. Its rapidly plunging levels revealed human remains from the 1970s and a sunken vessel from World War II.

    The federal government implemented its first-ever mandatory water cuts this year for states that draw from the Colorado River, and those cuts will be even deeper starting in January 2023.

    Flood-affected people carry belongings out from their flooded home in Shikarpur, Sindh province, in Pakistan in August.

    Floods caused by record monsoon rain and melting glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountain regions claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people this summer, with millions more affected by clean water and food shortages. More than a third of Pakistan was underwater, satellite images showed, and authorities warned it would take months for the flood waters to recede in the country’s hardest-hit areas.

    UN Secretary General António Guterres said the Pakistani people are facing “a monsoon on steroids,” referring to the role that the climate crisis had in supercharging the extreme rainfall. The hard-hit provinces Sindh and Balochistan saw rainfall more than 500% of average during the monsoon season.

    Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of the world’s planet-warming emissions, yet it is the eighth most vulnerable nation to the climate crisis, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.

    Destruction in the wake of Hurricane Ian on October 4 in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

    Hurricane Ian was a Category 4 storm when it made landfall in southwest Florida in late September and left a trail of destruction from the Caribbean to the Carolinas. Insured losses from Ian are expected to reach up to $65 billion, according to recent data from reinsurance company Swiss Re.

    The storm first struck Cuba before undergoing rapid intensification from a tropical storm to a category 3 hurricane in just 24 hours – something scientists told CNN is part of a trend for the most dangerous storms. That same week, Super Typhoon Noru in the Philippines grew from the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane to a category 5 overnight as residents around Manila slept, catching officials and residents unaware and unable to prepare.

    Hurricane Ian’s size and intensity allowed it to build up a storm surge higher than any ever observed in Southwest Florida, devastating Fort Myers and Cape Coral. Ian killed more than 100 people, most by drowning. It will likely be one of the costliest hurricanes on record not only in Florida, but in the US.

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  • Heavy rain and snow, strong winds hitting the West this week | CNN

    Heavy rain and snow, strong winds hitting the West this week | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Heavy coastal rain and mountain snow from a potent atmospheric river are falling across the western United States, with more to come later this week.

    All 11 Western states are expecting rain or snow, with the heaviest impacts predicted for California. By Tuesday afternoon, the rain, snow and wind have already knocked out power to about 161,000 customers in Oregon, 40,00 in Washington state and 14,400 in California, according to poweroutage.us.

    The atmospheric river – a long, narrow region in the atmosphere that can transport moisture thousands of miles – is the reason flood watches were issued for more than 5.4 million people across much of the West Coast, including Seattle and San Francisco.

    More than 16 million people in the West are under wind alerts from the National Weather Service through at least Tuesday evening as the storm system pushes inland.

    A high-wind warning is in effect for much of the Pacific Northwest, where widespread winds of 35 to 45 mph with wind gusts up to 70 mph are forecast or already occurring. In addition, wind advisories are also posted both in the Pacific Northwest as well as many other Western states.

    “Strong, possibly damaging, winds…with gusts as high as 60 mph” are forecast for the Portland metro & Willamette Valley through at least 3 pm PST, according to the NWS in Portland. Along the coast gusts are forecast 50 to 70 mph.”

    Some areas are already seeing wind gusts of 76 mph, equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.

    Some of the top wind gusts included 90 mph in Walker, California; 84 mph in Cambridge, Idaho; and 82 mph in Wagontire, Oregon.

    Strong winds in Portland could knock down trees that have been weakened by weather extremes in recent years, arborist Colin Bourgeois told CNN affiliate KATU.

    “The consecutive dry summers that we’ve had, especially the heat events like the heat dome, that really damages trees and it takes up so much of their energy to fuel their immune systems to fight off pathogens,” Bourgeois said.

    Areas to the west of Portland have seen up to 6 inches of precipitation in the past 24 hours, and the city on Monday broke a record for the date.

    Portland recorded 2.12 inches of rain, topping the record of 1.08 inches set on December 26, 1996. Monday was the third-rainiest December day on record in Portland.

    Over the next five days, rainfall across much of the West is forecast to be between 2-4 inches with isolated pockets up to 6 inches. Along the coast, rainfall is forecast to be between 4-6 inches with isolated areas potentially seeing higher.

    The greatest flash-flooding concerns are for the western foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, as well as the coastal portions of southern Oregon down through the Bay Area and to Los Angeles County.

    Widely scattered instances of flash flooding are possible at lower elevations, particularly in burn scars from wildland fires.

    Moderate to heavy rain has been falling across portions of the Bay Area since Monday night and is expected to keep falling for several days.

    As of mid-morning Tuesday, downtown San Francisco had recorded 1.21 inches of rain, Santa Rosa 2.72 inches and Mount Tamalpais 4.10 inches.

    Law enforcement had reports of roadway flooding, so the National Weather Service office issued a flood advisory.

    The storm will bring a temperature drop of 15-20 degrees to Southern California.

    “Say goodbye to the warmth,” the National Weather Service in Los Angeles tweeted Monday. “Big drop in temperatures on track between today and tomorrow (Tuesday). Expect 15-20 degrees of cooling thanks to the approaching storm system.”

    Temperatures could get as low as 49 on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, the weather service predicted.

    The weather service office in Northern California also warned of rough ocean conditions.

    “Seas have built to between 16 and 22 feet along the Northwest California coast,” the office in Eureka said on Twitter. “This is causing dangerous marine conditions, but also bringing large surf to the coastline. Please stay far back from the surf and off of rocks/jetties.”

    In terms of snowfall, winter storm alerts have been issued for 11 Western states.

    Over the next five days, lower elevation areas could see between 2-10 inches of snowfall with isolated areas getting 12-24 inches.

    Snowfall in higher elevations could be between 1-3 feet with isolated areas seeing over 3 feet.

    California is off to a fast start with snowpack, a critical source of water and good news for some improvement in drought conditions. As of late last week, the state’s snowpack was running more than 150% of normal, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

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  • Philippines reports at least 8 deaths as rains, floods disrupt Christmas celebrations | CNN

    Philippines reports at least 8 deaths as rains, floods disrupt Christmas celebrations | CNN

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    Philippine authorities on Monday reported at least eight deaths mostly due to floods triggered by heavy rains in the southern provinces, as Christmas celebrations were disrupted for thousands of residents who were forced to evacuate.

    Images on social media showed rescue workers helping residents out of chest-deep flood waters caused by two days of moderate to heavy rainfall in the central and southern Philippines.

    In its latest bulletin, the national disaster agency reported eight casualties, five of whom died from drowning, while 19 were missing. Of the eight deaths, six were in the mountainous and coastal Misamis Occidental province.

    Nearly 46,000 people were sheltering in evacuation centers, data from the Social Welfare Ministry showed on Monday.

    “We need food. Our house and animals were carried away by floods,” Estela Talaruc, a Misamis Occidental resident, told DZRH radio station. “Nothing was left, not even clothes.”

    The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, sees an average of 20 tropical storms annually. The Southeast Asian nation is also hit by adverse weather conditions like monsoon rains that cause deadly landslides and floods, and damage crops.

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  • A powerful winter storm claims at least 11 lives across the US as temperatures plunge, winds howl and power lines fall | CNN

    A powerful winter storm claims at least 11 lives across the US as temperatures plunge, winds howl and power lines fall | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Hundreds of thousands of Americans are waking up in the dark to unlit trees on Christmas Eve, after destructive winds and heavy snow from a winter storm tore down power lines and endangered drivers across the country, killing at least 11 people in its path.

    As bone-chilling temperatures continue to grip the US this holiday weekend, the unrelenting storm is pummeling the Midwest and parts of the East with heavy snow, blizzard conditions and even flooding along the Northeast coast. No letup is in sight until the end of Christmas Day.

    Related: Follow live updates

    At least 11 people have died since Wednesday across four states, a result of how dangerous and life-threatening conditions have been this week over a large swath of the country.

    Three people died in separate car crashes in north-central Kansas on Wednesday, Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Candice Breshears said. All three deaths are confirmed to have been weather-related, Breshears noted.

    In Kansas City, Missouri, one person died after losing control of their vehicle on icy roads Thursday afternoon, according to the Kansas City Police Department. The vehicle “went down the embankment, over the cement retaining wall and landed upside down” into a creek, police said in a statement.

    Four people died in car crashes in Ohio, where others were also injured, Gov. Mike DeWine said.

    Kentucky reported three deaths caused by the storm: Two in car crashes and another was a person who was unhoused in Louisville, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The man’s body was found outside with no obvious signs of trauma – an autopsy is required to determine the cause of death, police said.

    For days, forecasters and officials have been sounding the alarm on the grim conditions the storm promised to bring, while imploring drivers to stay off the icy, snow-covered roads and other travelers to alter holiday plans for optimal safety.

    “Remember your loved ones care more about having you alive and that next Christmas than whether you can make this one,” Beshear told CNN Friday.

    “People need to stay off the roads. … Being together is more important than ever, but staying safe is even more important than that,” Beshear added.

    The ominous warning comes as the storm continues to bear down with blizzard conditions from the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, bringing the double threat of heavy snow and speedy winds.

    Hundreds of drivers across multiple states, including New York, South Dakota and Minnesota were stranded this week and needed rescuing. Some states have closed major highways to deter drivers from getting behind the wheel. Plus, more than 5,000 flights were canceled Friday, and more than 10,000 were delayed.

    To make matters worse, even if snowfall stops or slows down, whiteout conditions are likely because winds are forecast to near or surpass 60 mph, resulting in damage and more power outages.

    “If you do lose power, it is going to be dangerously cold,” said Jackie Bray, the commissioner of New York’s Homeland Security and Emergency Services, adding people should seek warming shelters provided by some counties. “Please don’t assume that you can weather this cold overnight without heat. You may not be able to.”

    So far, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have no electricity, according to PowerOutage.US, which means millions of residents likely do not have proper heating or hot water as extremely cold temperatures persist Saturday.

    New Hampshire, New York and Virginia each have more than 50,000 outages as of early Saturday, while more than 240,000 outages are reported in Maine, the website shows.

    In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US


    Here’s what else you can expect this Christmas Eve:

    • The cold is coming for many: More than 175 million people are under wind chill alerts from across much of the central and eastern US. “The life-threatening Cold Temperatures and Dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded,” the National Weather Service said.
    • Record temps in the South: Atlanta and Tallahassee, Florida, are forecast to have their coldest high temperature ever recorded on December 24, according to the weather service.
    • Brutal cold elsewhere: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will also see their coldest day Christmas Eve ever on Saturday. Washington, DC, could see its second-coldest on Christmas Eve, the first being in 1989. New York is set to experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound above zero but will still experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.
    • Flooding threats persist: Both coastal and inland flooding risks are in store for the Northeast from heavy rain falling onto a melting snowpack. Moderate to isolated major coastal flooding is possible due to strong onshore winds.

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  • A least 9 dead as massive winter storm leaves more than a million without power and bitter cold across much of US | CNN

    A least 9 dead as massive winter storm leaves more than a million without power and bitter cold across much of US | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A massive winter storm battered the US on Friday with frigid temperatures, high winds and heavy snow, leaving at least nine people dead, knocking out power to over a million customers and wrecking holiday plans from coast to coast.

    The storm – expected to intensify throughout Friday as it barrels through the Midwest and East – is making for grim road conditions with poor visibility and ice-covered streets. Coastal flooding is also an issue, particularly along the shorelines of the Northeast.

    All modes of travel – planes, trains and automobiles – were being disrupted: There were hundreds of miles of road closures and flight cancellations were growing rapidly. In New York, flooding along the Long Island Rail Road forced part of the Long Beach branch to temporarily shut down.

    Related: Follow live updates

    “Christmas is canceled,” said Mick Saunders, a Buffalo, New York, resident who was two hours into blizzard conditions that are expected to last through Sunday morning. “All family and friends agreed it’s safer this way.”

    At least 9 deaths have been reported since Wednesday.

    In north-central Kansas, three people were killed in separate car crashes on Wednesday evening; one death was confirmed to be weather-related, and two were believed to be weather-related but need more investigation, according to Kansas Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Candice Breshears.

    In Kansas City, one person died after losing control of their Dodge Caravan on icy roads Thursday afternoon, according to the Kansas City Police Department. “The Dodge went down the embankment, over the cement retaining wall and landed upside down, submerged in Brush Creek,” police said in a statement.

    In Kentucky, three people died due to the storm, including two in vehicle crashes and the other a “housing insecure” person in Louisville, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The man’s body was found outside with no obvious signs of trauma and an autopsy would determine the cause of death, police said.

    And in Ohio, four people have died “as a result of weather-related auto accidents” and several others have been injured, according to Gov. Mike DeWine.

    Life threatening cold has pushed all the way to the Gulf Coast and the Mexican border, with below zero wind chills reported as far south as Austin and Atlanta. Many locations in the eastern US are in for their coldest Christmas Eve in decades as the Arctic blast reaches its peak.

    About 1.2 million customers in the US are experiencing power outages amid the winter weather and frigid temperatures, according to the website PowerOutage.US. Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania have the most outages.

    In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US


    In all, more than 200 million people in the US were under wind chill alerts from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and from Washington state to Florida, with below-zero wind chills expected in the Southeast by Friday. Other winter weather alerts are in effect for blizzard conditions, ice, snow as well as flooding.

    “The National Weather Service’s Watch Warning graphic depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” the agency said Thursday.

    Notably, parts of Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming have already seen wind chills below minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the past two days.

    The entire state of Texas was seeing temperatures below freezing by early Friday afternoon, according to weather observations from around the state.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned residents about the “epic, statewide hazard” of winter weather.

    “I called it a kitchen sink storm because it is throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink,” Hochul said at a press conference Friday afternoon. “We’ve had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures, and everything that mother nature could wallop at us this weekend.”

    For Brian Trzeciak, the storm was “living up to the warnings” at his home in Hamburg, New York. Buffalo’s airport, just to the north, reported zero visibility shortly after noon on Friday.

    “Whiteout conditions, frigid temperatures, and the waves are like what you would see during a hurricane,” he told CNN.

    He and his family decided to cancel their Christmas plans because of the dangers from the storm.

    “My mother lives about 30 minutes away and so does my sister and her family, in the other direction,” he said. “We always get together for Christmas Eve and Christmas, but we’re all hunkering down in our houses until it all stops on Monday.”

    Driving bans are in place in Erie, Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties in Western New York because of whiteout conditions.

    As many as 250 people could be stranded in their cars in Erie County in a situation that Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said put first responders at unnecessary risk. Brown told CNN Friday night that forecasts call for 36 to 48 inches of snow. The area has had wind gusts of 79 mph.

    Many will experience a cold holiday unlike any other: Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Tallahassee, Florida, are all forecast to have their coldest high temperature ever recorded on December 24, according to the National Weather Service.

    Washington DC is forecast to see its second coldest Christmas Eve, only behind 1989. In New York, it will be the coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound above zero, but will still experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.

    Much of Florida will experience the peak of their cold on Christmas Day. It will be coldest Christmas Day since 1983 for Miami, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach.

    On Friday, the storm unleashed more heavy snow and blizzard conditions, particularly in the Midwest.

    As it treks east across the country, the storm is expected to become a “bomb cyclone,” a rapidly strengthening storm which drops 24 millibars of pressure within 24 hours. The storm’s pressure was forecast to match that of a Category 2 hurricane as it moved into the Great Lakes on Friday morning.

    Governors in at least 13 states, including Georgia and North Carolina in the South, have implemented emergency measures to respond to the storm. Declarations of a state of emergency in several states have included the activation of National Guard units.

    More than 5,400 Friday flights have already been canceled as of 7:30 p.m. ET, after nearly 2,700 cancellations on Thursday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

    • It will remain very cold: Friday will bring record-low temperatures in large swaths of the US, including from the Lower Mississippi Valley, northeastward into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys and stretching across large sections of the east from the Southeast, through the Southern to Central Appalachians and into the mid-Atlantic, according to the National Weather Service.

    • Dangerous wind chills: The plummeting temperatures will be accompanied by high winds, which will create dangerous wind chills across nearly all the central to eastern US.

    • Blizzard warnings: The Upper Midwest will see frigid temperatures, heavy snow and high winds. The warning applies to parts of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Michigan. Buffalo, New York, will go under a blizzard warning Friday morning. Such warnings go in effect when snow and wind of 35 mph will reduce visibility to less than a quarter of a mile for at least three hours.

    • Whiteout conditions: Blizzard conditions may exist even if snowfall stops, because high winds can pick up snow already on the ground and cause low visibility.

    A separate storm system is bringing heavy mixed precipitation to the Pacific Northwest on Friday.

    A winter storm warning is in effect for western Washington, including Seattle, until 7 p.m. PST Friday. Additional snowfall of up to 2 inches is possible and ice accumulations could reach a quarter of an inch. Precipitation will begin as snow and transition to sleet/freezing rain and then finally to rain. More power outages are likely and travel will be made very difficult.

    The ice caused the closure of runways at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where nearly half of flights going into and out of the airport were canceled, according to FlightAware. Further, all express services for Sound Transit, a regional transportation network in the Seattle metro area, were suspended Friday due to the icy conditions.

    A winter storm warning is also in effect for northeastern Oregon, including Portland, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. PST. Total snow and sleet accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of .2 to .4 inches is likely as well as winds gusting to 55 mph. Wind chills as low as zero are possible, and frostbite is possible on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

    One of the biggest dangers of the massive winter storm besides heavy snow and blizzard conditions is the rapid drop in temperatures over a short period of time. The air will continue to get and feel colder, especially during night hours.

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  • A ‘particularly dangerous situation’ tornado watch has been issued for 3 southern states | CNN

    A ‘particularly dangerous situation’ tornado watch has been issued for 3 southern states | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: Affected by the storms? Use CNN’s lite site for low bandwidth.



    CNN
     — 

    Numerous tornadoes – including a few intense ones – are possible Tuesday afternoon and evening for parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi as severe storms rake the area, a situation that moved forecasters to issue a special tornado watch alerting residents to an unusual level of risk.

    Track the storms as they develop >>

    A “particularly dangerous situation” tornado watch, reserved for the most significant severe-storm threats and used in only 3% of watches, was issued for some areas in those states by the Storm Prediction Center.

    The watch, covering nearly 2.5 million people in far southeastern Arkansas, northern and central Louisiana and central Mississippi, was set to be in effect from shortly after noon to 7 p.m. CT.

    This comes as severe storms could hit a much wider area of the United States from Tuesday into early Wednesday, from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest, with tornadoes, damaging winds and hail, forecasters said.

    But prediction center forecasters focused especially on Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, saying “parameters appear favorable for strong and long-tracked tornadoes,” meaning ones that stay on the ground for an extended period, Tuesday afternoon and early evening in the watch area.

    “Numerous tornadoes (are) expected with a few intense tornadoes likely,” along with scattered large hail and scattered damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, forecasters said in the special tornado watch.

    Overall, more than 41 million people from southeastern Texas eastward to Georgia and northward to central Indiana and Illinois are under at least a marginal threat of severe weather Tuesday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

    Separate from the special tornado watch, the prediction center laid out an area where it believed the largest potential for severe weather, including tornadoes, existed – covering 1.6 million people in east-central Louisiana; a sliver of southeastern Arkansas; much of Mississippi, including Jackson; and northwestern Alabama. The threat for that area – a Level 4 of 5, or moderate – is relatively rare for this time of year, and tornadoes, though they can happen year-round, are more frequent in the spring and summer.

    “Severe thunderstorms in the fall and winter can be extremely impactful and may sometimes catch people off guard as thunderstorms tend to occur less frequently during the cooler months,” Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center, told CNN Weather.

    A Level 3 of 5, or enhanced, risk zone encircles that area, covering 2.8 million people across parts of Mississippi and Louisiana as well as a small part of eastern Texas, southeastern Arkansas, southwestern Tennessee and western Alabama.

    What is a long-track tornado?

  • Long-track tornadoes are tornadoes that are on the ground for an extended period of time. The majority of tornadoes are on the ground for just minutes, but with some severe events, there could be tornadoes on the ground for hours. This kind of tornado is known for causing widespread damage.

Some tornadoes could happen overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, making them even more threatening because it’s harder during those hours to alert people to take shelter.

“Another challenge with nighttime tornadoes, especially in the fall and winter, is that storms typically move very quickly, at times 50 or 60 mph,” Bunting said.

“This means that you must make decisions quickly and take shelter based on information contained in the severe thunderstorm or tornado warning, and not wait until the storm arrives,” Bunting added.

The same storm system also brought heavy snowfall to 13 states across the West and Upper Midwest, where millions of people were under winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings Tuesday morning.

Generally about 2 to 4 inches of rain could fall in the south-central United States, and the total could be greater in far southern parts of Mississippi and Alabama, where the storms could stall, the Weather Prediction Center said.

That could cause flooding in those areas, where the soil is damp from recent rains, the prediction center said. Flood watches are in place Tuesday in parts of southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi and Alabama.

In anticipation of the storms, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency urged residents to document property that could get damaged.

“We encourage Mississippians to take photos of their home BEFORE the storms. These photos can be used for insurance purposes and/or possible assistance if your home is damaged in the storm,” the agency said on its Twitter account.

This is the first time since the Storm Prediction Center started using its five-tier risk system in 2014 that a Level 4 risk of severe storms has been announced twice in November, CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said.

The other Level 4 came on the fourth day of this month, when 62 tornado reports were made across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, according to the prediction center. Many homes and businesses were damaged.

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  • Florida residents still recovering from Hurricane Ian are asked to prepare for possible tropical system later this week | CNN

    Florida residents still recovering from Hurricane Ian are asked to prepare for possible tropical system later this week | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Florida officials are warning residents, including those recently hit by the destructive Hurricane Ian, that a tropical system could bring heavy rain and damaging winds this week.

    The warning comes as Subtropical Storm Nicole has formed in the southwest Atlantic about 555 miles east of northwestern Bahamas, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm, now packing winds of 45 mph with higher gusts, is expected to begin impacting Florida by Tuesday evening.

    Already, the US territories of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands are under a flash flood watch through Monday afternoon, and tropical storm watches are in effect for northwest Bahamas.

    As the system forms, it will possibly churn toward Florida and the Southeast US through early this week, according to CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford.

    “Regardless of development, heavy rainfall, coastal flooding, gale force winds and rip tides will impact eastern Florida and the southeast US,” Shackelford explained.

    Rainfalls in the Sunshine State could range between 2 and 4 inches, with isolated amounts possibly exceeding 6 inches, according to Shackelford.

    Areas south of Tampa, some of which are still in recovery mode following Hurricane Ian’s landfall in late September, could be drenched with 2 to 4 inches of rain. Orlando is also at risk of seeing 1 to 2 inches of rain while areas south of Jacksonville could be hit with 1 to 4 inches.

    Ahead of the storm, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents Sunday to take precaution.

    “I encourage all Floridians to be prepared and make a plan in the event a storm impacts Florida,” DeSantis said in a news release. “We will continue to monitor the path and trajectory of Invest 98L and we remain in constant contact with all state and local government partners.”

    DeSantis stressed that residents should prepare for an increased risk of coastal flooding, heavy winds, rain, rip currents and beach erosion. “Wind gusts can be expected as soon as Tuesday of next week along Florida’s East Coast,” he added.

    On Tuesday, which is Election Day, much of the Florida Peninsula can expect breezy to gusty conditions. Chances of rain are expected to increase throughout the day for central and eastern cities such as Miami north to Daytona Beach and inland toward Orlando and Okeechobee.

    “Conditions may deteriorate as early as Tuesday and persist into Thursday night/Friday morning,” the National Weather Service in Miami said. “Impacts to South Florida may include rip currents, coastal flooding, dangerous surf/marine conditions, flooding rainfall, strong sustained winds, and waterspouts/tornadoes.”

    In the meantime, DeSantis said as the state continues recovering from Ian’s disastrous destruction, officials are also coordinating with local emergency management authorities across the state’s 67 counties.

    The goal is to “identify potential resource gaps and to implement plans that will allow the state to respond quickly and efficiently ahead of the potential strengthening” of the storm system, said the release.

    Hurricane Ian made landfall as a strong Category 4 storm on the west coast of the Florida peninsula, packing nearly 150 mph winds. The storm killed at least 120 people in Florida, destroyed many homes and leveled small communities. Thousands of people were without power or water for running days.

    And although the exact forecast for the upcoming storm is still unclear, forecasters said confidence has increased that the storm system could develop into a tropical or subtropical depression within the next two days.

    “The system could be at or near hurricane strength before it approaches the northwestern Bahamas and the east coast of Florida on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the potential for a dangerous storm surge, damaging winds, and heavy rainfall to a portion of those areas,” the weather service said.

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  • As countries convene at climate summit in Egypt, reports show the world is wildly off track. Here’s what to watch at COP27 | CNN

    As countries convene at climate summit in Egypt, reports show the world is wildly off track. Here’s what to watch at COP27 | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    As global leaders converge in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the UN’s annual climate summit, researchers, advocates and the United Nations itself are warning the world is still wildly off-track on its goal to halt global warming and prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis.

    Over the next two weeks, negotiators from nearly 200 countries will prod each other at COP27 to raise their clean energy ambitions, as average global temperature has already climbed 1.2 degrees Celsius since the industrial revolution.

    They will haggle over ending the use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, which has seen a resurgence in some countries amid the war in Ukraine, and try to come up with a system to funnel money to help the world’s poorest nations recover from devastating climate disasters.

    But a flood of recent reports have made clear leaders are running out of time to implement the vast energy overhaul needed to keep the temperature from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius, the threshold scientists have warned the planet must stay under.

    Reports from the United Nations and the World Meteorological Association show carbon and methane emissions hit record levels in 2021, and the plans countries have submitted to slash those emissions are beyond insufficient. Given countries’ current promises, Earth’s temperature will climb to between 2.1 and 2.9 degrees Celsius by 2100.

    Ultimately, the world needs to cut its fossil fuel emissions nearly in half by 2030 to avoid 1.5 degrees, a daunting prospect for economies still very much beholden to oil, natural gas and coal.

    “No country has a right to be delinquent,” US Climate Envoy John Kerry told reporters in October. “The scientists tell us that what is happening now – the increased extreme heat, extreme weather, the fires, the floods, the warming of the ocean, the melting of the ice, the extraordinary way in which life is being affected badly by the climate crisis – is going to get worse unless we address this crisis in a unified, forward-leaning way.”

    Here are the top issues to follow at COP27 in Egypt.

    Developing and developed countries have for years tussled over the concept of a “loss and damage” fund; the idea which suggests countries causing the most harm with their outrageous planet-warming emissions should pay poorer countries, which have suffered from the resulting climate disasters.

    It has been a thorny issue because the richest countries, including the US, don’t want to appear culpable or legally liable to other nations for harm. Kerry, for instance, has tiptoed around the issue, saying the US supports formal talks, but he has not given any indication of what solution the country would sign on to.

    Meanwhile, small island nations and others in the Global South are shouldering the impact of the climate crisis, as devastating floods, intensifying storms and record-breaking heat waves wreak havoc.

    The deadly flooding in Pakistan this summer, which killed more than 1,500 people, will surely be an example the countries’ negotiators point to. And since September, more than two million people in Nigeria have been affected by the worst flooding there in a decade. At this very moment, Nigerians are drinking, cooking with and bathing in dirty flood water amid serious concerns over waterborne diseases.

    It is likely loss and damage will have space on the official COP27 agenda this year. But beyond countries committing to meet and talk about what a potential loss and damage fund would look like, or whether one should even exist, it is unclear what action will come out of this year’s summit.

    “Do we expect that we’ll have a fund by the end of the two weeks? I hope, I would love to – but we’ll see how parties deliver on that,” Egypt’s chief climate negotiator Ambassador Mohamed Nasr recently told reporters.

    Former White House National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy told CNN she thinks loss and damage will be the top issue at the UN climate summit this year, and said nations including the US will face some tough questions about their plans to help developing nations already being hit hard by climate disasters.

    “It just keeps getting pushed out,” McCarthy said. “There’s need for some real accountability and some specific commitments in the short-term.”

    Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, left, and John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

    People will be watching to see if the US and China can repair a broken relationship at the summit, a year after the two countries surprised the world by announcing they would work together on climate change.

    The newfound cooperation came crashing down this summer when China announced it was suspending climate talks with the US as part of broader retaliation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

    Kerry recently said the climate talks between the two countries are still suspended and will likely remain so until China’s president Xi Jinping gives the green light. Kerry and others are watching to see whether China fulfills the promise it made last year to submit a plan to bring down its methane emissions or updates its emissions pledge.

    The US and China are the world’s two largest emitters and their cooperation matters, particularly because it can spur other countries to act, too.

    Separate from a potential loss and damage fund, there is the overarching issue of so-called global climate finance; a fund rich countries promised to push money into to help the developing world transition to clean energy rather than grow their economies with fossil fuels.

    The promise made in 2009 was $100 billion per year, but the world has yet to meet the pledge. Some of the richest countries, including the US, UK, Canada and others, have consistently fallen short of their allocation.

    President Joe Biden promised the US would contribute $11 billion by 2024 toward the effort. But Biden’s request is ultimately up to Congress to approve, and will likely go nowhere if Republicans win control of Congress in the midterm elections.

    The US is working on separate deals with countries including Vietnam, South Africa and Indonesia to get them to move away from coal and toward renewables. And US officials often stress they want to also unlock private investments to help countries transition to renewables and deal with climate effects.

    Ships carry coal outside a coal-fired power plant in November 2021 in Hanchuan, Hubei province, China.

    COP27 is intended to hold countries’ feet to the fire on fossil fuel emissions and gin up new ambition on the climate crisis. Yet reports show we are still off-track to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius.

    A UN report which surveyed countries’ latest pledges found the planet will warm between 2.1 and 2.9 degrees Celsius. Average global temperature has already risen around 1.2 degrees since the industrial revolution.

    Records were set last year for all three major greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

    There is a spot of encouraging news: the adoption of renewable energy and electric vehicles is surging and helping to offset the rise in fossil fuel emissions, according to a recent International Energy Agency report.

    But the overall picture from the reports shows there is a need for much more clean energy, deployed swiftly. Every fraction of a degree in global temperature rise will have stark consequences, said Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program.

    “The energy transition is entirely doable, but we’re not on that pathway, and we have procrastinated and wasted time,” Andersen told CNN. “Every digit will matter. Let’s not say ‘we missed 1.5 so let’s settle for 2.’ No. We must understand that every digit that goes up will make our life and the life of our children and grandchildren much more impacted.”

    The clock is ticking in another way: Next year’s COP28 in Dubai will be the year nations must do an official stocktake to determine if the world is on track to meet the goals set out in the landmark Paris Agreement.

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  • More than 600 killed in Nigeria’s worst flooding in a decade | CNN

    More than 600 killed in Nigeria’s worst flooding in a decade | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The death toll from the worst flooding Nigeria has seen in a decade has passed 600 people, the country’s humanitarian affairs ministry tweeted on Sunday.

    According to the ministry, more than 2 million people have been affected by flooding that has spread across parts of the country’s south after a particularly wet rainy season.

    More than 200,000 homes have been completely or partially damaged, the ministry added.

    Earlier this month, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency warned of catastrophic flooding for states located along the courses of the Niger and Benue rivers, noting that three of Nigeria’s overfilled reservoirs were expected to overflow. NEMA said the release of excess water from a dam in neighboring Cameroon had contributed to the flooding.

    While many parts of Nigeria are prone to yearly floods, flooding in certain areas has been more severe than the last major floods in 2012, a Red Cross official in Kogi told CNN last week.

    NASA images show decimating reach of worst flood this region has seen in a decade

    Nigeria’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Sadiya Umar Farouq warned Sunday that more flooding was likely and urged regional governments to prepare accordingly.

    “We are calling on the respective State Governments, Local Government Councils and Communities to prepare for more flooding by evacuating people living on flood plains to high grounds, provide tents and relief materials, fresh water as well as medical supplies for a possible outbreak of water-borne diseases,” the ministry of humanitarian affairs said on Twitter Sunday.

    The country will soon implement its National Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, aimed at improving coordination of the flood response efforts.

    According to the ministry, “relief has gone to every state of the federation,” and “many state governments did not prepare for the floods.”

    A delegation organized by the ministry will be visiting state governors across the country to suggest strengthening states’ flood response mechanisms.

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  • 12-meter floods to inundate thousands of properties, Australian emergency services warn | CNN

    12-meter floods to inundate thousands of properties, Australian emergency services warn | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese toured flooded areas of the southeastern state of Victoria Sunday – as emergency services warned waters up to 12 meters were expected to inundate thousands of properties.

    Albanese said the scenes were “devastating” on his visit to the town of Bendigo and on a helicopter ride over the town of Rochester, where a 71-year-old man was found dead in a flooded backyard Saturday.

    “By the end of today over 100 ADF [Australian Defence Force] personnel will be on the ground in Victoria,” Albanese told reporters.

    ADF personnel are assisting in the flood rescue, recovery and efforts to protect against the water levels expected to rise in the coming days.

    Speaking alongside Albanese, Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said 355 roads remain closed in Victoria due to flooding and “around 6,000” properties around the town of Mooroopna remain without power.

    “There is a really significant challenge there – just the amount of water and the levels it’s reaching,” Andrews said.

    Emergency warnings are in effect in and around the Shepparton area, including a “too late to leave” warning for residents.

    Floodwaters in that area are expected to rise to 12.2 meters, which would flood more than 7,000 properties, the Victoria State Emergency Service’s Tim Wiebusch said on Sunday.

    The death on Saturday of the 71-year-old brought the number of people killed in flooding across Australia’s southeast this past week to two.

    On October 11, the body of a 46-year-old man was discovered in a submerged vehicle near Bathurst in New South Wales.

    Victoria Police said the exact circumstances surrounding the latest death, of the 71-year-old, remain unclear.

    Hundreds of people have been rescued already, according to Wiebusch, who has warned that more evacuation orders will be issued over the coming days.

    Wild weather has battered Australia recently. The historic rainfall, brought about by La Niña conditions, has caused rivers to swell beyond their banks and left thousands homeless.

    Speaking on Saturday, Andrews had said the number of flooded houses and isolated communities would “almost certainly grow as we see flooding peak.”

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  • Treasures to trash: The personal belongings Hurricane Ian turned into debris | CNN

    Treasures to trash: The personal belongings Hurricane Ian turned into debris | CNN

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    Erica Lee/CNN

    Charlie Whitehead, 64, lives on San Carlos Island, across the Fort Myers Beach isle, and has spent most days since the storm trying to salvage family photos. This one depicts him and his wife, Debbie, when they were younger.

    Nearly two weeks since Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida’s southwestern coast, battered communities are slowly beginning to sort through the damage the storm left. Families that were chin-deep in water in their homes have found there is little left to salvage: the furniture that floated around has dried but is now beginning to mold, wood chests and drawers bear signs of the water damage, electronics are now useless and few cars survived the flooding. Debris that piles high in every driveway offers a glimpse into what the homes behind them used to look like and what families held dear but are now forced to throw out. The trash piles include mementos too deformed to save, treasured photographs, rugs, kitchen tables, dining chairs, mirrors, clothes — most of everything covered in mud.

    “The big trash trucks with the claws, they just come in, they pick that stuff up like it’s nothing. Seventeen years’ worth of hard work gone in a matter of five minutes,” says Miguel Romero, 26, who lives in the Linda Loma neighborhood, near the beach. Romero, his partner and their 1-year-old daughter, along with his parents, went into the attic of their ground-floor home to survive. Almost everything in the house was ruined. But at the end, like many others here, stuff is stuff, he says, and he’s thankful his family is alive.

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