Weather
/Knowledge

California town engulfed in floodwater. But residents fear what will happen if they flee
ALLENSWORTH, Calif. — A pool of floodwater covered Perla Estrada’s front yard. She walked in sandals through the muddy water.
Estrada said she’s worried that water from a coming storm could climb higher toward the doorstep of her mobile home.
“We don’t see a solution,” Estrada said, adding that she has been asking local emergency ...Read more

Heavy rain to hit Southern California; thousands flee flooding in Central Valley
LOS ANGELES — A weary, storm-soaked California is bracing for another bout of heavy rain, power outages and potential flooding this week as a cold weather system takes aim at the state.
Light rain was falling in many regions Monday, the first day of spring, with precipitation expected to gain strength early Tuesday and linger into Wednesday. ...Read more

Heavy rain to hit Southern California; thousands flee flooding in Central Valley
LOS ANGELES — A weary, storm-soaked California is bracing for another bout of heavy rain, power outages and potential flooding this week as a cold weather system takes aim at the state.
Light rain was falling in many regions Monday, the first day of spring, with precipitation expected to gain strength early Tuesday and linger into Wednesday. ...Read more

Commentary: What happened in Pajaro isn't just a 'natural' disaster
In the last few years, California has experienced extreme wildfires, heat waves and the ever-present COVID-19 pandemic. What has become abundantly clear, particularly from the ravages of the pandemic on low-income communities of color, is that disaster risk is not an equal-opportunity affair.
The latest evidence of this came this month as the ...Read more

Who deserves a levee? The fight to save California communities from flooding
The tiny town of Hamilton City sits in the direct path of the mighty Sacramento River, muddy and swollen by this week’s storms.
But a new $125 million levee system — the product of the community’s 35-year-long fight to make something big from something broken — is protecting its 1,900 farmworkers and their families.
This week, as a ...Read more

'We need to stop the water': A California town's frantic fight to save itself
ALLENSWORTH, Calif. — When it rained for days and floodwaters poured onto roads, the people of Allensworth grabbed shovels and revved up tractors.
The makeshift barriers they built with sandbags, gravel and loose sand kept the water back.
Now, the town of nearly 600 people northwest of Bakersfield faces another threat — a broken levee, ...Read more

Flooding vulnerabilities of LA River's Glendale Narrows spark concern amid record rain
LOS ANGELES — Heavy rain this week turned the Los Angeles River flood-control channel into a raging torrent, and with new storms expected on Monday, emergency officials are keeping a wary eye on a well-known stretch that has long been vulnerable to flooding.
Glendale Narrows is a lush 7-mile section of rumbling runoff between Griffith Park ...Read more

Battered Central California braces for next storm beginning Monday
Flooding continued along several Central California rivers Saturday after this week's devastating storm, but emergency response officials are increasingly optimistic that the worst may be over for now.
A new storm forecast for early next week was trending southward, away from the Central Valley and coastal areas that saw severe flooding in the ...Read more

More rain coming to Southern California in coming days
LOS ANGELES — Soggy Southern California should expect a new storm moving in next week.
The forecast calls for rain likely Tuesday and Wednesday, with a chance of showers in some areas Monday.
The region should expect a "long period of steady light to moderate rain" totaling 1 to 3 inches, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National...Read more

Flooding is dire concern in Central California as rivers swell, with more rain coming
LOS ANGELES — Days after the latest heavy storm passed through, rising waters are continuing to spur evacuation orders and flood warnings across Central California — and still more rain is forecast for early next week.
In Porterville, residents in two areas along the swollen Tule River have been ordered to evacuate, and the stretch of river...Read more

Yosemite plans for limited reopening Saturday after weather closed the park for weeks
Yosemite National Park plans to "restore minimal public access" Saturday, after shuttering for almost a month because of multiple strong winter storms and atmospheric river systems that dumped record-breaking snow, caused several rock falls and damaged many park facilities.
Yosemite Valley — one of the most popular and accessible parts of the...Read more

As California drought retreats, threat of spring flooding rises
LOS ANGELES — Though California may be ending its winter with quenched reservoirs and near record snowpack, meteorologists are warning that the state will face increased flooding risk in the coming months as Sierra Nevada snowmelt fills rivers and streams.
On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s spring flood ...Read more

Rain speeds snowmelt after Southern California's winter storms, a mixed bag for buried mountain towns
LOS ANGELES — Recent rainstorms in the San Bernardino Mountains brought both reprieve, melting off much of the snow that had stranded some residents for weeks, and restlessness, setting off minor flooding and rockslides.
In Lake Arrowhead, Linda Knorr and her husband had been trapped inside their home for about a week and had to shovel ...Read more

The sog slog continues: Forecast calls for even more rain through March
LOS ANGELES — Californians shouldn't put the rain gear away quite yet. March is expected to continue roaring like a lion beyond mid-month.
Models are pointing to another potential atmospheric river in the first half of next week, forecasters say, the 12th of California's wet season. An upper-level low-pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska is ...Read more

Riders on the storm: Surfers shred on the American River near Sacramento
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Surf's up on the American River.
With water on the river running high, friends Mark Divittorio, Tyler Lausten and Steve Sylvester grabbed their boards over the weekend and hit one of their favorite spots near Carmichael. It’s been five years since the river has been high enough to surf the spot, Lausten said.
The three...Read more

Volunteers step up in flooded Pajaro, where many lack food, clothing -- and work
PAJARO, Calif. — Jessica Sanchez felt awful about the catastrophic flooding that displaced hundreds of people in this Monterey County farm town.
She felt worse when she heard families were sleeping in their cars because some of the shelters had reached capacity and they couldn't afford hotels.
"I have two daughters and I can't imagine having...Read more

California deals with surging rivers, sliding rocks, flooded towns as storm passes
PAJARO, Calif. — Surging rivers. Sliding rocks. Flooded towns.
The 11th atmospheric river storm of the season left a trail of soggy misery in California as it broke decades-old rainfall records and breached levees this week.
In the Tulare County city of Porterville, residents on both sides of the Tule River were ordered to evacuate Wednesday...Read more

Evacuations near Central California dam as storm swells rivers, smashes rainfall records
PAJARO, Calif. — Surging rivers. Sliding rocks. Flooded towns.
The 11th atmospheric river storm of the season left a trail of soggy misery in California as it broke decades-old rainfall records and breached levees this week.
In the Tulare County city of Porterville, residents on both sides of the Tule River were ordered to evacuate Wednesday...Read more

Evacuations near Central California dam as storm swells rivers, smashes rainfall records
LOS ANGELES — Surging rivers. Sliding rocks. Flooded towns.
The 11th atmospheric river storm of the season left a trail of soggy misery in California as it broke decades-old rainfall records and breached levees this week.
In the Tulare County city of Porterville, residents on both sides of the Tule River were ordered to evacuate Wednesday ...Read more
Battered Merced residents confront twin threats: Pounding storms and persistent thieves
MERCED, Calif. — In recent weeks, Merced neighbors Mariya Nelson and Beth Lee took on more than just rebuilding their storm-battered homes.
After a series of break-ins, they're now the de facto neighborhood watch for a well-to-do strip of homes that runs along a road abutting Bear Creek, which has flooded multiple times in recent weeks during...Read more
Popular Stories
- Bomb cyclone, atmospheric river, polar vortex: How our weather terminology has grown with recent wild storms
- Tornado rips Little Rock; central US braces for more storms
- California lawmakers tell Army Corps of Engineers to speed up Pajaro levee repairs
- Recent drought-busting storms mean misery for allergy sufferers in Southern California
- 'Too much loss from the rain.' How businesses are coping -- or benefiting -- from recent storms