Atmospheric river drenches Los Angeles with record-setting rain, blasts Sierra with 160-mph winds
A wind gust of 162 mph was recorded on Ward Mountain in Lake Tahoe on Sunday, and the ski area of Palisades Tahoe saw a gust of 148 mph. In Mono County, wind gusts peaked at 125 mph at Mammoth Mountain Summit.
Relentless rain floods California as atmospheric river impacts state for third day
A powerful and impactful atmospheric river is impacting Southern California for a third consecutive day. Over 10 inches of rain has led to numerous reports of flooding, mudslides and debris flows.
LOS ANGELES – A deadly atmospheric river brought life-threatening extreme weather to California this week, breaking rainfall records and slamming the Sierra Nevada mountains with wind gusts that rivaled a Category 5 hurricane.
The situation unfolded across California over the weekend as an atmospheric river storm sent a deluge of precipitation, causing hundreds of mudslides, flooding and prompting water rescues across the region. A State of Emergency was declared for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
3 DEAD, HUNDREDS OF LANDSLIDES REPORTED IN WAKE OF ATMOSPHERIC RIVER THAT SLAMMED CALIFORNIA
Multiple daily rainfall records have been broken across the greater Los Angeles area. Downtown Los Angeles recorded 7.04 inches since Sunday. That makes this the third-highest two-day rainfall total on record. The city averages 14.25 inches of rain annually and received half of that in 48 hours.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) recorded 1.76 inches on Sunday, breaking a 1958 record of 0.56 inches. Since Sunday, LAX reported receiving 4.38 inches of rain.
(FOX Weather)
Santa Barbara Airport recorded 2.39 inches on Sunday, blowing the previous record out of the water set in 1990 of 0.50 inches.
The National Weather Service office in San Diego recorded the highest rain totals for California within 24 hours at higher elevations. By Tuesday at 4 a.m. PST, the NWS said that the area of Lytle Creek recorded 12.22 inches of rain. Deer Creek Dam received 9.21 inches.
First responders pull three from tree after they escaped submerged car
The rain was falling at a quarter to a half-inch per hour, the air was only 50 degrees and the wind gusted from 8-15 mph adding to the wind chill. The three rescued were treated for hypothermia.
CALIFORNIA'S 'ARKSTORM': HISTORIC 1000-YEAR FLOODS OF 1861-62 FEATURED 8 WEEKS OF ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS
The event is expected to wind down on Wednesday, but another disturbance will bring another round of rain and mountain snow to California.
Rain totals, though, will generally remain under 1 inch. However, because of how saturated the ground is, minor flooding could occur.
(FOX Weather)
The atmospheric river system packed powerful winds that blasted the Sierra Nevada with destructive gusts that topped well over 100 mph in Mono County and the greater Lake Tahoe area, according to the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada.
Sadly, at least three people were killed by fallen trees that were brought down by the wind gusts.
STRONG WINDS CRASH TREE INTO SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, HOME: ‘OH MY GOD! THE ROOF JUST COLLAPSED IN!’
A wind gust of 162 mph was recorded on Ward Mountain in Lake Tahoe on Sunday, and the ski area of Palisades Tahoe saw a gust of 148 mph. In Mono County, wind gusts peaked at 125 mph at Mammoth Mountain Summit.
(FOX Weather)
The combination of powerful winds and heavy rain led to widespread flooding and damage to infrastructure throughout California. More than 155,000 customers were without power in California on Tuesday morning, an improvement from nearly 1 million outages on Sunday.
Feet of snow have fallen across the Sierra Nevada since the storm began pounding the region.
(FOX Weather)
Mammoth Mountain Ski Base in California recorded 33 inches in 12 hours by Monday morning. Aspendell, located in Inyo County, picked up just under 28 inches.