Atmospheric river unleashes deadly rainstorms on California: See the widespread flooding and destruction
An onslaught of atmospheric river storms has brought torrential rain and life-threatening flooding, mudslides and debris flows to many parts of California.
A series of atmospheric rivers have left wide swaths of damage across California, claiming the lives of at least 18 people and leaving homes inundated with floodwaters and highways covered in mud and rocks.
The series of storms began their barrage on the Golden State just after Christmas and have brought renewed punches of heavy rain and damaging winds on a near-daily basis.
These images capture the scale of damage and deadly destruction from these powerful storms as they swept across California.
Storm damage and flooding in Capitola Beach, California on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (Image: Robert Ray/FOX Weather)
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A portion of West Cliff Drive fell into the Pacific Ocean after a series of powerful storms of rain and high winds hit Californias Central Coast in Santa Cruz, California on Sunday January 8, 2023.
(Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
A view of damage on the road after storm and heavy rain in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Silicon Valley in Scotts Valley, California, United States on January 09, 2023. (Photo by Neal Waters/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Colorful seaside town of Capitola, California after it was pummeled by storms.
(Robert Ray)
This aerial view shows a damaged pier is split in Capitola, California, on January 9, 2023. - A massive storm called a "bomb cyclone" by meteorologists has arrived and is expected to cause widespread flooding throughout the state. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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Crews work to clear a rockslide near Fresno on State Route 168. (Image: CHP Fresno)
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Storm damage in Aptos, Calif.
(Robert Ray)
Storm damage in Aptos, Calif.
(Robert Ray)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 10, 2023 - - Metro workers help clear a flooded section of the pedestrian walkway leading to train platforms on the main level of Union Station in downtown Los Angeles on January 10, 2023. Many commuters were shuttled over the flooded section caused by the latest rain storm in Southern California. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 09: In an aerial view, water floods a vineyard on January 09, 2023 in Santa Rosa, California. The San Francisco Bay Area and much of Northern California continues to get drenched by powerful atmospheric river events that have brought high winds and flooding rains. The storms have toppled trees, flooded roads and cut power to tens of thousands. Storms are lined up over the Pacific Ocean and are expected to bring more rain and wind through the end of the week. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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CAPITOLA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 10: People gather near storm debris washed up on the beach, with a storm-damaged pier in the background, on January 10, 2022 in Capitola, California. The San Francisco Bay Area and much of Northern California continues to get drenched by powerful atmospheric river events that have brought high winds and flooding rains. The storms have toppled trees, flooded roads and cut power to tens of thousands. Storms are lined up over the Pacific Ocean and are expected to bring more rain and wind through the end of the week. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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A washing machine stuck in the mud after flooding in the Felton Grove neighborhood in Felton, California, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. California faces more drenching rain, as concerns about drought have been replaced by fears of flooding thats killed at least 14 people, closed highways and sent residents fleeing for their lives. Photographer: Nic Coury/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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FILLMORE CA - JANUARY 11: A car that was smashed by a landslide lies mud-bound on a closed road on January 11, 2023 near Fillmore, California. A series of powerful storms continues to pound California in striking contrast to the past three years of severe to extreme drought experienced by most of the state. The storms are damaging yet bringing heavy rainfall totals which, though not expected to end the drought, is helping to refill reservoirs that have shrunken to historic low levels because of drought. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
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SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 11: Driftwood and other storm debris sit washed up in front of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park on January 11, 2023 in Santa Cruz, California. The San Francisco Bay Area and much of Northern California continues to get drenched by powerful atmospheric river events that have brought high winds and flooding rains. The storms have toppled trees, flooded roads and cut power to tens of thousands. Storms are lined up over the Pacific Ocean and are expected to bring more rain and wind through the end of the week. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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CHATSWORTH, CA - JANUARY 10: Two vehicles fell into a sinkhole on Iverson Road in Chatsworth trapping four people. Photographed at Iverson Road on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 in Chatsworth, CA. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Redondo Beach, California January 11, 2023-A woman watches a wave crash over the Redondo Beach breakwater Wednesday as storms in the Pacific created big swells. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Trees and mud cover a road in Santa Cruz County, California amid flooding rains. (Image: CHP Santa Cruz)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 05: The canopy of a Valero gas station rests on the ground after being toppled by a storm on January 5, 2023 in San Francisco, California. A heavy winter storm hit Northern California on January 4. (Photo by Liu Guanguan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
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CALIFORNIA, USA - JANUARY 11: Jose Martin surfs in a flood at Fort Funston in San Francisco on January 11, 2023 as atmospheric river storms hit California, United States. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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APTOS, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 11: Cleanup worker Jovani Barboza clears away sand which washed up from the beach in front of homes on January 11, 2023 in Aptos, California. The San Francisco Bay Area and much of Northern California continues to get drenched by powerful atmospheric river events that have brought high winds and flooding rains. The storms have toppled trees, flooded roads and cut power to tens of thousands. Storms are lined up over the Pacific Ocean and are expected to bring more rain and wind through the end of the week. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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One of the most powerful storms, a bomb cyclone, tapped into tropical moisture near Hawaii to bring several inches of rain across Northern and Central California. San Francisco set its second-wettest day on record on New Year's Eve. Two people died in that storm.
On Monday, another massive storm slammed the Santa Cruz area with pounding surf, causing damage to waterfront buildings and piers as torrential rain inland sent the San Lorenzo river rapidly rising to major flood stage and inundating nearby towns.
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The storm eventually turned its attention to Southern California, where 12 to 15 inches of rain fell in the mountains, sending rivers of water and mud through popular Los Angeles-area suburbs. Officials ordered the evacuation of the entire celebrity enclave of Montecito, home to such Hollywood royalty as Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Aniston, as flash flooding threatened.
Wind gusts during the storms have reached 60 mph at times in the San Francisco Bay Area and over 70 mph in the Sacramento area, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands.
The storms are giving a brief break to the state on Thursday, but more atmospheric rivers loom over the weekend – and again next week.
CALIFORNIA'S ATMOSPHERIC RIVER BARRAGE TO BRIEFLY SUBSIDE BEFORE ANOTHER ONSLAUGHT OF STORMS THIS WEEKEND
But there are some signs Californians could get a few days to dry out with a pattern change toward the end of next week.