New Year’s brings new rainfall and flood threat to California
By CNN Meteorologist Briana Waxman
(CNN) — Another series of atmospheric river-enhanced storms is set to soak California as the new year begins, bringing a flood threat back to the state just days after a destructive Christmas-week storm left rivers high and soils waterlogged.
The midweek storm lacks the extreme ingredients of last week’s flooding, but it arrives in a state already pushed to its limits. With little room for additional water, rainfall rates rather than totals will determine where problems emerge as California rings in the new year under another active weather pattern.
The first low-pressure system is expected to reach Southern California late New Year’s Eve, then spread north through much of the state into New Year’s Day. The Weather Prediction Center has placed much of Southern California in a Level 2 of 4 flood threat Wednesday and Thursday.
Coastal and valley areas such as downtown Los Angeles could see 1 to 2 inches of rain, with 2 to 4 inches possible in foothills and mountains. Even moderate bursts of rain could trigger flooding, mudslides or debris flows, especially near burn scars and steep terrain.
Evacuation warnings are in effect for parts of Los Angeles County near recent burn scars as rain moves in Wednesday night. The voluntary warnings begin at 11 a.m. PT and are meant to give residents time to prepare for possible mud or debris flows.
The Wrightwood area in San Bernardino County, devastated by Christmas Eve flooding in the Bridge Fire burn scar, is again under an evacuation warning as the threat of mud and debris flows returns.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state has prepositioned crews and equipment in Los Angeles and Ventura counties ahead of the rain.
The first wet Tournament of Roses Parade in two decades
The timing raises the stakes, especially in Southern California, where the 137th Tournament of Roses Parade takes place Thursday morning in Pasadena. Rain arriving Wednesday night will affect parade-goers camping along the route, with downpours continuing into Thursday morning. This is expected to be the first wet Rose Parade since 2006, according to the National Weather Service.
This system is only the first of three in a conga line that could affect the waterlogged state through early next week. Conditions change late Friday into Saturday as colder air drops snow levels below major passes, including Interstate 80 through Donner Pass. Over a foot of snow is likely at Sierra Nevada ski resorts, though exact totals remain uncertain and could make mountain travel hazardous.
The-CNN-Wire
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