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  • California’s next big storm: When and where will rain, snow and flooding hit?

    California’s next big storm: When and where will rain, snow and flooding hit?

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    A major atmospheric river storm bringing heavy rains, high winds and significant snow barreled into northwestern California early Wednesday and is expected to move south across the state over the next 48 hours.

    Statewide, officials are bracing for potential widespread flooding, dangerous travel in the mountains and even power outages.

    The system is the first of back-to-back storms that forecasters say could cause perilous conditions through next week, depending on the severity, strength and speed of the storm systems.

    This first storm is expected to be relatively fast-moving, dumping excessive rain and heavy snow primarily on Wednesday and Thursday before moving out of the area, a scenario officials hope will help minimize damage.

    Here’s the latest on when Californians can expect to see the storm’s impact:

    Wednesday morning

    After a dangerously windy night for much of the state’s northwest corner — and a high wind warning advisory remaining through 1 p.m. for much of the North Coast — showers began in Northern California early Wednesday.

    Rainfall is expected to pick up throughout the day across the North Coast, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento Valley, with much of the region under a flood watch through late Thursday or early Friday.

    But dangerous winds remain a major concern, with the National Weather Service issuing a high-wind warning for much of the North Bay and Central Coast through Thursday afternoon.

    “Given saturated soils, downed trees and resulting power outages are likely,” the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office warned on X.

    In the northern Sierra Nevada and other high peaks above 6,000 feet, heavy snowfall is expected to begin Wednesday morning, with a winter storm warning in effect through at least Friday. As the storm develops, snow levels are expected to drop through the rest of the week and snowfall rates could reach up to 2 inches an hour, according to the weather service. Up to 3 feet of powder is possible at the highest peaks.

    Wednesday afternoon

    As the storm moves south and east, much of the Sacramento Valley will enter a flood watch through at least Thursday evening, with forecasters warning of minor concerns, including ponding on roads and flooding along small streams or in poor drainage areas.

    Dangerous surf also will become a growing concern, with weather officials in the Bay Area warning of waves up to 26 feet high.

    Thursday morning

    By Thursday morning, showers will continue across Northern California, but the storm will take aim at Southern California and the Central Valley.

    The heaviest rain in Los Angeles and Ventura counties is expected Thursday, with up to 2 inches in most areas — though only moderate rainfall rates are likely. Currently, no flood advisories have been issued for the regions.

    However, a winter storm warning will be in effect beginning early Thursday for the Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino county mountains, including the San Gabriels, where the highest elevations could get up to 2 feet of snow. A few inches of snow are possible as low as 4,500 feet, and forecasters are warning that “travel may be difficult to impossible,” including along the 5 Freeway corridor.

    The southern Sierra expects heavy snowfall beginning late Wednesday and into Thursday — from 1 to 4 feet, depending on elevation — but heavy rainfall in the foothills could cause flooding and mudslides, the National Weather Service warned.

    Farther south and east, across much of Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, a flood watch will go into effect Thursday morning and run through Friday. With a slight chance for thunderstorms all day Thursday, forecasters warn that “excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.”

    Thursday night

    Showers and bands of heavy rain will continue across southwest California, from the coast to the mountains.

    Forecasters say snow levels will begin to drop Thursday night to about 4,500 to 5,000 feet, though heavy snow is not expected in those areas.

    Friday

    Much of the wind, flood and winter storm advisories will expire Friday, though lingering showers will remain in both Northern and Southern California.

    Weekend

    Saturday is expected to be a bit of a reprieve from precipitation — but officials say it won’t last long.

    A second strong, wet storm, more focused on Southern California, is expected to bring more rain and snow, beginning as early as Sunday and lasting until midweek.



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    Grace Toohey

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  • 'Thousand-year storm' leaves San Diego reeling from punishing rainfall, floods

    'Thousand-year storm' leaves San Diego reeling from punishing rainfall, floods

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    In a matter of minutes Monday morning, communities across southeastern San Diego were transformed into disaster zones: Families fled their homes in chest-deep floodwaters; vehicles were swept downstream as roads became rivers; residents cried for help from their rooftops.

    A deluge of rainfall from what city officials are calling a “thousand-year storm” forced hundreds of rescues, flooded an untold number of homes and businesses and caused millions of dollars in estimated damage. The floodwaters had mostly receded by Tuesday afternoon, revealing the devastating aftermath of California’s latest climate emergency — and leaving hundreds without housing and transportation, and with ruined valuables and personal belongings.

    “The damage and the impact was absolutely devastating,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said at a Tuesday news conference. “Entire lives changed in just a few minutes.”

    “The amount of water that we saw yesterday would have overwhelmed any city drainage system,” he said. “This dumping of rainwater is unprecedented in most San Diegans’ lifetimes. None of us alive have seen anything quite like this.”

    More than 4 inches of rain fell in several areas in and around San Diego on Monday — much of it in just a few hours — a historic rainfall event, according to Elizabeth Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego. The airport recorded 2.73 inches, more than its typical total for the entire month of January.

    “That is not only the wettest January day on record, but it’s the fourth-wettest day of any calendar day” for San Diego, Adams said. Many areas saw rainfall rates well above three-quarters of an inch per hour. Over half an inch per hour can easily cause dangerous flash flooding.

    “It’s a ton,” Adams said. “Pretty much anywhere in the country that receives 3 to 4 inches in a three- to four-hour time period is going to see flooding.”

    Parts of San Diego were completely inundated.

    The city’s southeastern neighborhoods, including Southcrest, Mountain View, Encanto, Logan Heights and San Ysidro, saw some of the worst damage.

    Gloria said city and county leaders are focused on recovery. Both the city and county declared a local emergency. The mayor estimated, conservatively, that the storm caused $6 million in damage, but officials say assessments are far from complete.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proclaimed a state of emergency for San Diego and Ventura counties, both of which have been walloped by wet winter storms. At the end of December, torrential downpours in and around Oxnard caused similar damage. During that event, Oxnard saw rainfall rates of 3 inches an hour, one of the heaviest downpours ever recorded in the area.

    A woman looks over her flood-damaged home

    Homeowner Maria Ramirez walks through her flood-damaged home in San Diego.

    (Denis Poroy / Associated Press)

    The worry now is that the number of people displaced in San Diego could continue to grow in the coming days. Though no official figure was provided Tuesday, city leaders said they estimated hundreds had been forced from their homes, at least temporarily.

    “What was generally assumed to be the impact yesterday … was probably an underestimate,” said San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, whose district includes some of the communities that saw the worst of the flooding. He said he visited many of those residents early Tuesday, touring a whole apartment complex that took on water, likely displacing dozens of families.

    The American Red Cross is operating two emergency shelters at Lincoln High School and Bostonia Recreation Center. As of Tuesday, the nonprofit said 18 households — more than 50 people — had registered to stay. But with so many people probably still returning home after fleeing, Elo-Rivera said he expected those numbers to rise. City and county officials are asking residents to fill out a voluntary survey about flood damage.

    “I think it’s going to take a little bit more time to realize the extent of the damage,” Elo-Rivera said.

    On Monday afternoon, Manuel Deleon was unexpectedly called back to the office during his shift driving a tow truck — only to find the office flooded. Roaring water had swept away his personal vehicle.

    “The water was out of control,” said Deleon, 47. “My car slipped with the mud and went right into [a nearby] ditch and it was just fully submerged.”

    Deleon, whose 2007 BMW was one of dozens of cars carried away in the flash floods, said he wasn’t sure how he’d get to work in the coming days. He attempted to clean the soggy and caked-in mud from the interior, but that was a lost cause.

    “This rain took everybody by surprise,” he said. “It’s crazy.”

    San Diego Fire Chief Colin Stowell said his crews made at least 150 rescues Monday, in addition to 30 animal rescues.

    “We literally saw over 100 rescues in the Southcrest neighborhood alone,” Stowell said.

    “Luckily we saw very few injuries and no fatalities,“ Stowell said, calling that feat “remarkable” given the extent of the emergency.

    More than 1,000 people remained without power Tuesday, after widespread outages Monday, according to the San Diego Gas & Electric outage map.

    Although much of San Diego was under a flood watch all day Monday, city officials said they were not prepared for the extent — and speed — of what came down.

    “Nobody anticipated the severity of the storm,” Gloria said. “We got a lot more rain than [what was predicted] in a much shorter amount of time.”

    He said he planned to meet with the National Weather Service to discuss the disparity between forecasts and what occurred but emphasized that his teams were currently focused on recovery.

    Adams said the circumstances Monday ended up being a perfect storm for rare, heavy rainfall in San Diego: extreme atmospheric moisture and a storm path over its downtown — which forecasters warned residents about as soon as possible, she said.

    Just after 8 a.m. Monday, the agency issued a flash flood warning for a stretch of coastal communities just south of Orange County, including Oceanside, Carlsbad and Vista. Soon after, a larger stretch of southwestern California was placed under a flash flood warning.

    Marlene Sanchez-Barriento salvages items behind her home

    Marlene Sanchez-Barriento salvages items behind her San Diego home, which was damaged by flooding.

    (Denis Poroy / Associated Press)

    “We used pretty intense warnings,” Adams said. “We tried to really heighten the message … [that] this is a really dangerous situation that doesn’t happen in San Diego proper that often.”

    The day before the storm, the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion warned that the ground, already saturated from storms over the weekend, could heighten flood concerns. But forecasters said it was still hard to predict how much rain would fall, and where.

    By Monday morning, Adams said the situation developed rapidly, with that intense atmospheric moisture — what she called 250% to 350% of normal — and the direct storm path aligning.

    That “really lead to torrential rainfall across the county, but especially focused on downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods,” Adams said.

    City officials said these extreme circumstances are likely to become a new normal requiring more preparation, coordination and investment.

    “This is called climate change. It is real, it is happening,” Gloria said, “and we experienced it yesterday in San Diego.”

    Officials agreed that the city’s outdated stormwater drainage system, for which $2 billion of necessary work hasn’t been budgeted, didn’t help.

    Elo-Rivera said he would like to see those much-needed funds allocated, and in an equitable way — noting that many of the communities affected most were working-class, with a majority of Latino and Black residents.

    These communities “have long been under-invested in and divested in and ignored by the city,” he said. “Public investment in climate resiliency is incredibly important … [especially] prioritizing the communities that have been left behind and are most likely to be devastated by events like yesterday.”

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    Grace Toohey

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  • Northern California deluge leaves some residents trapped for days, and more rain is on the way

    Northern California deluge leaves some residents trapped for days, and more rain is on the way

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    Torrential rains over the holiday weekend have left Humboldt County reeling, with several roads flood-damaged and impassable, and more rain is on the way.

    “The storm came and hit us hard on Saturday,” said Thomas Mattson, the county public works director. He said his agency had been working round the clock to repair washed-out roads that had left some residents stranded.

    In Redwood Valley, off Highway 299, flooding from the Mad River damaged both main access roads Saturday, cutting off residents from outside aid. The 113-mile river flows northwest through the county and the rural unincorporated community. Repairs to the roads were not expected to be completed until late Wednesday.

    Eureka’s daily newspaper the Times-Standard reported that at least 30 households were struggling with flooded homes and power outages amid dwindling supplies and no way to access help.

    During an eight-hour stretch Saturday, 2 to 5 inches of rain fell throughout Humboldt County, according to Tyler Jewel, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Eureka office. The community of Whitethorn recorded nearly 8 inches of rainfall.

    “It’s a very small watershed,” Jewel said. “This last storm just happened to dump a ton of rain there. … It’s really rare for that river to flood.”

    Mattson said the county’s public works crews had reopened 15 flooded roads since Saturday but were still dealing with half a dozen that sustained serious damage.

    Ryan Derby, emergency services manager with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, said there had been “county-wide flooding” over the last several days. The agency declared a local state of emergency Tuesday to expedite emergency repairs and state and federal aid.

    Derby said flooding from the Mad River affected Tyee City and other agricultural land in that area, along with parts of Mad River Road, or what’s locally known as the “Arcata Bottom.”

    Small creeks and streams overflowed into the Blue Lake area, not far from the Blue Lake Rancheria tribal land, about a 10-minute drive from Arcata.

    Other flooding stretched from Hoopa in the north down to Shelter Cove in the southwestern tip of the county along the coast.

    Some of the affected areas are “sparsely populated,” Derby said, and no evacuation orders were issued, though some residents fled during the rainstorms on Saturday. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

    County officials are still assessing how much damage was caused by the rain so far, Derby added, and they will meet Thursday to discuss the situation and this weekend’s expected rain. Derby said the county is referring affected residents to the Red Cross at (800) 733-2767.

    Derby said the storms caused damage to county roads and culverts, and with more rain set to arrive Friday, he worries that additional flooding could interfere with recovery efforts.

    “It’s not anticipated to be as severe,” he said of the rain forecast. “But there could be compounding factors with the incoming storm that pose additional issues.”

    Forecasts indicate 2 to 3 inches of rainfall are expected throughout Humboldt County — though the King mountain range in the southwest could receive up to 5 inches — between Friday and Monday, with the first wave of rainfall arriving Friday morning through Saturday morning and the second from Saturday night until Monday afternoon.

    Higher rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches were expected throughout Mendocino County south of Humboldt, with both the Russian and Navarro rivers having the potential to flood, Jewel said.

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    Jeremy Childs, Hannah Wiley

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  • Weekend storm dumps more snow on Tahoe area, travel to the area discouraged

    Weekend storm dumps more snow on Tahoe area, travel to the area discouraged

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    Weather officials are urging motorists to avoid the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade mountains this weekend as another system of heavy mountain snow began moving through the region Saturday morning.

    The snow will continue through early Sunday with accumulations up to 2 feet above 6,000 feet elevation and 4 to 8 inches above 3,000 feet, said Sara Purdue, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

    On Saturday morning along Interstate 80 — the popular route to Lake Tahoe — snow was accumulating up to 1 inch per hour and expected to increase up to 2 inches per hour later in the day, according to the weather service. Wind gusts are forecast to top 50 miles per hour in some areas, Purdue said.

    She said travelers should expect dangerous driving conditions with slick roads and near white-out conditions at times. Motorists should be ready for road closures and carry tire chains, extra warm clothing, food and water if venturing into the area.

    The newest storm system comes after one skier was killed and another guest was injured Wednesday when they were buried in an avalanche at the Palisades Tahoe resort, officials said. It occurred at about 9:30 a.m. above the G.S. Gully area of the KT-22 peak, the resort said in a statement.

    The skier who died was identified Wednesday night by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office as 66-year-old Kenneth Kidd, a resident of both Point Reyes and the Truckee Tahoe area.

    Hours before that avalanche, forecasters had warned that the risk of an avalanche in the area was “considerable” for a portion of the central Sierra Nevada, encompassing all of Lake Tahoe and much of the surrounding mountains.

    A Level 3 threat indicates “dangerous avalanche conditions” that could lead to “small avalanches in many areas; large avalanches in specific areas,” and warns that “natural avalanches [are] possible; human-triggered avalanches likely.”

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    Ben Poston

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  • Another storm is coming to Southern California. Could it rain on the Rose Parade?

    Another storm is coming to Southern California. Could it rain on the Rose Parade?

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    The Los Angeles area is heading for a wet end to the year, with rain showers forecast for later this week, raising the possibility that Rose Parade attendees might need a poncho or umbrella on New Year’s Day.

    This week will be overcast, and a light storm is expected to arrive in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties by Wednesday, dropping a quarter of an inch of rain or more, according to the National Weather Service. Los Angeles and Ventura counties could receive a quarter of an inch of rain Friday heading into Saturday and likely clearing up by Sunday.

    Last week, a winter storm drenched Southern California and dropped a month’s worth of rain in some areas. The latest storm passing through the region this week pales in comparison.

    “Not even close. This is not even in the same realm as that one,” said meteorologist Mike Wofford of the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. “This storm system will be much weaker.”

    Temperatures are expected to drop to below normal for most areas heading into the weekend, hovering around the 60s in the coastal and valley areas and the 50s in the Antelope Valley.

    Forecasts are still too far out to determine what the weather holds for New Year’s Day in Southern California. But there is still a slight chance of rain for the Los Angeles region, including right over the Rose Parade route in Pasadena — though it should not be anything close to the downpour that drenched the area in 2006, raining on the parade for the first time in 51 years.

    Los Angeles Unified School District band director Tony White remembers that soggy parade route — it rained when his students got off the bus and kept going all while they marched down Colorado Boulevard.

    “That was a tough parade,” said White, who has led the district marching band for the last 22 years.

    This year, 330 students will march with the L.A. Unified band and will likely start getting prepared by 2:30 a.m., White said. A bit of rain shouldn’t be too much of a problem; brass instruments, cases and drums made of wood can take a beating during a rainy march.

    “There’s excitement and enthusiasm from students whenever they participate. They see the people cheering them on,” White said. “If it rains, we’ll make the best of it.”

    Another group gearing up for the parade, rain or shine, includes a shiba inu with an underbite, a Chihuahua, a pug, a Pomeranian, and a mixed pit bull terrier. The dogs will ride aboard the Pasadena Humane Society’s first Rose Parade float in 20 years, said President and Chief Executive Dia DuVernet.

    “We’re ordering rain ponchos for the dogs just in case, and even for the humans too,” DuVernet said.

    The timing of a New Year’s Day storm is still uncertain, Wofford said; the rain could arrive later Monday after the parade is over, but the forecast will become clearer heading into the weekend. The Rose Parade sets off at 8 a.m., followed by the national semifinal Rose Bowl Game between Michigan and Alabama at 2 p.m.

    “You can’t rule out that there could be some light rain during the parade,” Wofford said.

    Southern Californians will also be under a high surf warning or advisory over the next few days, depending on where they live. Residents along northwest- and west-facing beaches can expect to see large swells, reaching 3 to 5 feet in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, but giving way to much larger swells starting Thursday with some waves around 10 to 15 feet, and peaking around 15 feet and over Saturday. Surfers along the Central Coast might also spot waves around 13 to 15 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

    Hermosa, Santa Monica, Venice, Dockweiler and Redondo beaches will be among those with the most wave activity, said Kealiinohopono “Pono” Barnes, spokesperson for the L.A. County Fire Department’s Lifeguard Division.

    “This will be the first relatively big swell event of the year,” Barnes said.

    The widespread high surf is expected to coincide with high morning tides on Thursday, bringing an increased threat of coastal flooding and beach erosion and flooded beach-side parking lots. The advisories and warnings will end Saturday or Sunday, depending on the location, so residents are advised to stay up to date with their local areas or Los Angeles County lifeguards.

    Coupled with the high surf, large tidal swings are expected to reach around 5.5 feet. Anyone heading out to the beach this weekend should check in with an on-duty lifeguard, officials said.

    “Let them know you’re there and the lifeguard can point you in the direction of the best spot to put you in the water,” Barnes said.

    Moderate swimmers should be cautious when heading to the water during the advisories this weekend.

    “You should swim, surf or board within your abilities,” Barnes said. “This may not be the best time to try and flex your skills.”

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    Nathan Solis

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  • California ski resorts look to the latest storm for snow to help kick off the season

    California ski resorts look to the latest storm for snow to help kick off the season

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    As skiers and snowboarders flock to the Lake Tahoe and the Eastern Sierra slopes this holiday weekend, National Weather Service meteorologists say the latest storm is expected to drop only a limited amount of snow in Southern California.

    The only area that could record even as much as 1 to 2 inches of snow over the weekend is the high mountain peaks of the Eastern San Gabriel Mountains, said John Dumas, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

    In a post on X, formerly Twitter, operators of the Mt. Baldy Resort in the San Gabriel Mountains, said they expect to open their snow play area Saturday and Sunday as well as a chair lift “through the holidays.”

    “We expect more snow after Christmas through the New Year,” according to the post.

    Big Bear Mountain Resort in the San Bernardino Mountains is expected to see rain and snow flurries Friday evening but should have little to no snow accumulation over the weekend.

    Looking out of his office window and seeing blue skies, Justin Kanton, Big Bear’s public relations director, said the limited trails open for skiing should remain open over the weekend, and the amount of snow in the area has been great so far for visitors, especially students on winter vacation.

    As the Big Bear resort waits what the storm might bring, Katon cautioned visitors to prepare ahead of traveling to the area by checking the weather report, looking for road closures and identifying whether snow chains are necessary for travel.

    “What [you] don’t want is to get halfway up the hill and CHP turns [you] around because [you] don’t have the right kind of traction,” he said.

    Other parts of the state have already received enough snow to kick off the ski season.

    Over the next three days Mammoth Mountain in the Eastern Sierra is predicting about three inches of snowfall. The National Weather Service forecast for the Lake Tahoe area is partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow Friday, Saturday and Monday. Lake Tahoe’s resorts are reporting between six and 48 inches of base, with higher-elevation resorts operating up to third to a half of all trails.

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    Karen Garcia

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  • Rain expected to roll through Los Angeles next week

    Rain expected to roll through Los Angeles next week

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    Rain is expected to finally roll through Los Angeles and Southern California starting Monday and continuing through next week, according to the National Weather Service.

    Saturday’s sunny skies are projected to give way to some clouds on Sunday, with temperatures starting to slightly drop.

    The likelihood of showers in Los Angeles County, including downtown, is expected to increase on Monday with a 50% chance of rain.

    Chance of precipitation increases through the week, with a slight chance of thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures are projected to drop to the 60s through the week.

    Total rain expected from Sunday through Tuesday could reach half an inch from a storm system moving inland that is expected to bring colder weather and rain throughout California, the weather service wrote on social media.

    Any precipitation should bring respite to an otherwise dry and somewhat gusty few weeks in Southern California, despite the state being in an El Niño weather pattern that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects to provide an unusually warm and wet season for parts of the west.

    While Los Angeles isn’t currently under any red flag warnings or other fire-risky watches, the weather service did upgrade Los Angeles and Ventura counties to “locally brief critical fire weather conditions” until early Sunday, largely concentrated in the hills and mountains, due to wind and low humidity.

    “Gusts of 25 to 35 mph will be common, strongest into Sunday morning with isolated gusts to 45 mph,” the weather service wrote. “Conditions will change rapidly Sunday night with an active storm
    pattern through next week.”

    California has otherwise experienced a mild wildfire season, after dozens of atmospheric rivers pummeled the state earlier this year and delivered record rainfalls.

    Tropical Storm Hilary showered Southern California with several more inches of rain in August, which caused flooding in Coachella Valley.

    Weather experts anticipate a strong El Niño weather pattern through the first few months of 2024, increasing California’s likelihood for even more rain after years of drought and extreme wildfires.

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    Hannah Wiley

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  • Southern California’s first significant storm of the season expected to hit Wednesday

    Southern California’s first significant storm of the season expected to hit Wednesday

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    The first significant storm of the season is expected to arrive midweek in Southern California, bringing cooler temperatures and 1 to 2 inches of rain over several days.

    The predicted rainfall total is “fairly significant for this early in the season,” said meteorologist David Gomberg with the National Weather Service. “This is more typical of what you would see in the winter.”

    Current models show a 60% to 70% chance of rain beginning Wednesday, with the storm possibly extending into Saturday.

    “It’s a fairly long duration of off-and-on rain, but the intensities at any given point don’t look to be too extreme as it stands right now,” Gomberg said Sunday morning. “It’s just kind of this longer duration of light-to-moderate rainfall that adds up over time.”

    The storm’s expected steadiness “will help delay any severe fire weather conditions for a while,” he said. Foothill and mountain areas could receive slightly more rain, but the National Weather Service isn’t expecting significant debris flow or flash flooding.

    Up in the Bay Area, weather officials are predicting 1 to 3 inches of intermittent and widespread rain throughout the week. Coastal areas could see rain as early as Monday night.

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    Andrea Chang

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  • Early season atmospheric river to bring significant rains next week to Southern California

    Early season atmospheric river to bring significant rains next week to Southern California

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    While strong winds remained a concern Thursday, meteorologists have their eye on a moisture-rich storm expected to bring significant rains to Southern California by the end of next week.

    An atmospheric river system with a “decent moisture plume” is forecast to hit Southern California as early as Wednesday, and is expected to bring up to 4 inches of rain to some areas, said David Sweet, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

    “We anticipate getting more than an inch, maybe as much as two inches” to much of the Los Angeles area, Sweet said. The mountains could see as much as 4 inches.

    “It will certainly tamp down any fire threat that we’re dealing with currently,” Sweet said.

    While the storm is still almost a week out, Sweet said models show slightly different timing and rain amounts for the system. But he said with confidence the “pineapple express” system will bring significant precipitation with some strong southerly winds. Rains are likely to be most significant Thursday and Friday next week.

    But in the short term, officials are still warning about dangerous fire conditions in most L.A. County valleys and mountains, as well as a the Malibu coast, with a red flag warning still in effect through Thursday evening. Gusty Santa Ana winds up to 50 mph, along with low humidity, mean that any fire start could spread rapidly, the weather service warned.

    Those winds are expected to die down by Friday, causing minor cooling, Sweet said. However, the offshore winds will have a slight resurgence over the weekend, though not to the point of further concern, he said.

    “Those Santa Ana-type winds [this weekend] will boost our temperatures back up into the 80s,” Sweet said.

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    Grace Toohey

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  • Up to 4 inches of rain expected in parts of Northern California this weekend

    Up to 4 inches of rain expected in parts of Northern California this weekend

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    A weak atmospheric river is expected to dump as much as 3½ inches of rain in the northernmost parts of California starting Friday, while Sacramento and the lower Bay Area will see light precipitation.

    Del Norte County, which is bordered by Oregon and the Pacific Ocean, will likely be the state’s hardest hit area, according to the National Weather Service.

    Roughly 1½ to 3½ inches of rain is expected to fall between Friday at 5 a.m. and Saturday at 5 a.m. That’s up from between a half inch and 1¼ inches expected for the previous 24 hours.

    “It’s a typical fall season storm system that’s passing through the region,” said Jonathan Garner, a weather service meteorologist based out of Eureka. “It’s not a particularly strong atmospheric river but it may impact complex terrains with periods of moderate to local heavy rainfall.”

    The 600-person riverfront town of Gasquet is anticipating 3.43 inches of rain from Friday into Saturday, according to NWS estimates, with Crescent City expected to see 2.72 inches of rain during the same period.

    The weather service issued a flash flood watch for the county’s interior, which has been rocked by recent fires, from Friday evening until Saturday afternoon. The agency said there is a chance of debris flows.

    The soil in the region was scarred by the Smith River Complex Fire from early October, which burned around 95,000 aces, and the “messy, slick mud” could mix with rock and downed timber in a debris flow, Garner said.

    No evacuations were planned as of Thursday afternoon, according to Garner.

    A small craft advisory was issued Thursday as winds gusted from 10 to 20 knots along the coast.

    The National Weather Service bureau in Sacramento is advising residents to clear leaves and debris from storm drains along with house gutters. They should also check and replace worn wiper blades, while locating packed-away umbrellas and rain gear.

    About 3 to 4 inches of rain is expected to fall in Eureka between Thursday and Tuesday, with risks of “ponding” and longer commutes expected in the northern portions of Humboldt County. About 2 to 3 inches of rain is anticipated in Weaverville and Trinity County, along with Blue Canyon and Placer County.

    Larger portions of Butte, Mendocino, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama and Yuba counties are expecting between 1 to 2 inches of rain.

    There’s a minor risk of pooling of water on the roads in Sacramento, San Francisco and the general Bay Area, with larger threats further north.

    The weather service is calling expected rain near the Bay Area “light,” with as much as a half inch anticipated in San Francisco and Half Moon Bay between Saturday and Tuesday. Around a half-inch of rain is predicted in Sacramento while as much as an inch may land in Cloverdale and Sonoma County.

    The snow levels in Northern California are anticipated to reach 9,000 to 10,000 feet in the mountains and will drop to 6,000 to 7,000 feet by the start of the new week.

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    Andrew J. Campa

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  • Ghoulish footballfish makes rare appearance on Orange County beach — on Friday the 13th

    Ghoulish footballfish makes rare appearance on Orange County beach — on Friday the 13th

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    For the second time in three years, a rare and otherworldly-looking black anglerfish was found at Newport Beach’s Crystal Cove State Park, showing up on Friday the 13th with its gaping mouth, jagged, translucent teeth and spiny dorsal fin.

    Officials from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife identified the aquatic creature as being a Pacific footballfish, one of 200 species of anglerfish worldwide.

    The Pacific footballfish at Crystal Cove State Park is the second case of the species washing ashore in three years.

    (California State Parks)

    The female specimen is roughly 14 inches, measuring from mouth to tail fin, according to Michelle Horeczko, a senior environmental scientist supervisor with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

    “There are only approximately 30 or so specimens that have been collected of this species globally, which makes this find valuable and may add to what is known about their life history,” Horeczko said in an email.

    The difference between the female and male version of the footballfish is noticeable.

    The female’s dorsal fin protrudes far from the body. At the end of its first spine is a glowing bulb that functions as a lure and resembles a small lantern guiding the fish in the darkness of the deep sea. That bioluminescent tip is not for vision, but rather attracts prey that spot the glow.

    The female fish can grow to 24 inches, according to state park officials, while the male fish is rarely bigger than an inch.

    The fish generally lives well below the surface, as far as 3,000 feet down, according to state park officials.

    Seasonal lifeguard Sierra Fockler found the deceased but intact footballfish on Oct. 13 at 2:30 p.m. while walking near the lifeguard headquarters building on Moro Beach, located within Crystal Cove, according to state parks officials.

    The carcass was handed over to fish and wildlife personnel, who examined the specimen at the Marine Field Lab at the AltaSea campus in San Pedro.

    Seasonal lifeguard Sierra Fockler discovered a 14-inch Pacific footballfish on Oct. 13. at Crystal Cove State Park.

    Seasonal lifeguard Sierra Fockler found the footballfish while walking near the lifeguard headquarters building on Moro Beach at Crystal Cove.

    (California State Parks)

    The footballfish was turned over to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, “so that the specimen can be preserved and available for scientific research,” according to Horeczko.

    The museum took possession of the last footballfish discovered at Crystal Cove in May 2021 and displayed it in its “New Discoveries” exhibit that year.

    Dr. William Ludt, the museum’s associate curator of ichthyology, or fish studies, told Spectrum One News in 2021 that he was excited about the discovery because “it’s an extremely rare specimen.”

    “Having one wash up in the condition that it’s in is extraordinary,” Ludt said.

    Horeczko said not enough information exists to determine why these fish beached themselves.

    Another footballfish came ashore in December 2021 in Encinitas.

    “It is unknown what causes these fish to strand, or why we have had two in recent years at this location,” Horeczko said.

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    Andrew J. Campa

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