Heavy rainfall floods encampment in Texas and prompts flood warnings in Southern California

By The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Flash floods inundated streets and homes in San Diego as torrential rain hit much of the U.S. on Monday, leading authorities in San Antonio, Texas, to fear that several homeless people living in storm drains might have been swept away by the deluge.

In San Antonio, firefighters investigated whether five homeless people were swept away by rushing waters early Monday morning, according to fire department spokesperson Woody Woodward. They were camping in drainage tunnels next to a highway north of downtown, officials said.

Firefighters searched multiple locations, including drainage tunnels with the help of a boat, Monday morning and again before noon but did not find anyone.

“No individuals were found, so I cannot confirm if there were in fact five people swept away,” Woodward said, adding that the fire department had conducted 25 water rescue missions or investigation calls from late Sunday night through 8 a.m. Monday with no injuries being reported.

Some parts of the San Antonio area had received up to 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain since Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service. Rainfall was also soaking Houston, Dallas, as well as various parts of north and east Texas.

Meanwhile, heavy rain from weekend storms in California flooded streets and freeways and toppled trees. Flood warnings were issued for parts of the San Francisco Bay area and the San Diego County coast and eastern mountains and deserts.

Early morning flooding hit part of the Northern California town of Guerneville, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said. The local school district canceled classes for the day.

Later, the weather system unleashed a severe punch on the south end of the state.

Waist-deep water inundated parts of San Diego’s Mountain View and Southcrest neighborhoods, and northbound Interstate 15, KFMB-TV reported.

During a three hour period, 3 inches (7.6 cm) of rain fell at National City while 2 inches (5 cm) fell at San Diego International Airport, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Deputies helped residents whose homes were flooded in the Spring Valley and Casa de Oro neighborhoods, said San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Zee Sanchez.

“Flooding is pretty widespread out there,” Sanchez said. Vehicles were stranded on flooded roads and the department aided in a swift-water rescue near Santee, he said. No injuries were reported.

The San Diego River was flooding, the National Weather Service said, warning that crossing roads would be unsafe.

The Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management issued an evacuation warning near Topanga Canyon effective through Tuesday morning due to possible mud or debris flow.

Up north, there’s an avalanche warning through Tuesday morning for the backcountry in the mountains around the Lake Tahoe area, which might see more than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow, according to The Sierra Avalanche Center in Truckee, California. The incoming storm is expected to bring up to 8 inches (20 cm) of snow to the lake’s shores and up to 14 inches (35 cm) with winds gusting up to 60 mph (95 kph) in the highest elevations beginning late Monday.

In other parts of the country, as in Arkansas, there’s freezing rain. Forecasters warned that up to a half-inch (1.27 centimeters) of ice could coat parts of the state by Monday evening. That prompted an ice storm warning that includes much of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas and the cities of Fayetteville and Fort Smith. A small part of northeastern Oklahoma was also under an ice storm warning Monday, the National Weather Service said.

The ice — combined with winds of up to 20 mph (32 kph) — could lead to power outages, the agency said.

Days of subfreezing temperatures have caused water problems in multiple Arkansas cities and in Memphis, Tennessee, due to broken pipes and equipment.

Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers responded to more than 400 crashes and at least 600 stranded motorists by 3:30 p.m. Monday, Capt. John Hotz of the patrol said. Three of the accidents were fatal, including one involving a vehicle that struck a Missouri Department of Transportation truck in rural northern Missouri. A transportation department spokeswoman said the truck driver was not hurt. Portions of interstates 70 and 44 were closed at the height of the icing, with officials describing the roadways as sheets of ice.

“Just lots of slide-offs,” said Dallas Thompson, a St. Louis-area trooper.

Around the country, the wintry weather and heavy rainfall was expected to continue this week.

Freezing rain and some snowfall was predicted for parts of the Midwest, the lower Great Lakes area and the Northeast, the National Weather Service said.

Parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and the Gulf Coast were predicted to have heavy showers and thunderstorms from Tuesday through Thursday, with some areas getting as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

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Juan A. Lozano in Houston, Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri, Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, and John Antczak and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.