Catastrophic flooding swamps Los Angeles area as deadly atmospheric river slams California
Historic rain continues to fall on the Golden State with even more flooding possible on Tuesday.
Life-threatening flooding slamming California
A deadly atmospheric river continues to pound California Monday evening. FOX Weather Meteorologist Steve Bender has the forecast.
FOX Weather's continued coverage of the deadly atmospheric river hitting California on Monday has moved to this link.
LOS ANGELES – A dire situation continues to unfold in California as a deadly atmospheric river storm slams the state with torrential rain, destructive wind gusts and catastrophic flash flooding.
(FOX Weather)
Southern California, including downtown Los Angeles, was in the bull’s-eye where forecasters believe the risk of flooding is highest. NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) placed about 14 million people in the area under a rare "high risk" of flash flooding on Monday.
The WPC noted the ongoing situation will continue to produce locally catastrophic flash and urban flooding in the Los Angeles area through Tuesday.
Los Angeles picked up 4.10 inches of rain on Sunday, which far exceeded the daily rainfall record for that date set in 1927, which was 2.55 inches. It's also more rain than the city averages for February, which is 3.64 inches.
Historic amounts of rain continue to fall on the Golden State, far exceeding their monthly averages.
FLOOD WATCH, WARNING AND EMERGENCY: HERE ARE THE DIFFERENCES THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
Los Angeles rain statistics.
(FOX Weather)
3 killed by falling trees
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Image 1 of 12Firefighters assist evacuating 4 adults and a dog from the red tagged units. Take a look at the tree on the right that fell through the roof. (@SBCFireInfo/X)
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Image 2 of 12A 70 foot tall tree fell on an apartment complex in Goleta, California giving residents a very early 4:19 a.m. wakeup call. Two units were red tagged. (@SBCFireInfo/X)
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Image 3 of 12Rain weighed down the leaves and branches of a tree in Bodega, Bay California. The tree split and fell on two separate homes. (Sonoma County Fire District)
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Image 4 of 12Wind gusts knocked down a tree which blocked Highway 101 in Santa Rosa, Califoria. (Sonoma County Fire District)
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Image 5 of 12Downed trees closed the Pacific Coast Highway through Carmel Valley, California Sunday. (Caltrans)
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Image 6 of 12Downed trees closed the Pacific Coast Highway through Carmel Valley, California Sunday. (Caltrans)
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Image 7 of 12A car trying to drive through a flooded street in Santa Cruz County, California due to heavy overnight and Sunday rain. (CHP Santa Cruz)
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Image 8 of 12A major connector from I-5 to Highway 110 in Los Angels is closed due to a mudslide. (@CaltransDist7 / X)
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Image 9 of 12A mudslide blocks a lane of I-5 in Los Angeles. (@CaltransDist7 / X)
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Image 10 of 12A boulder in a landslide blocked a Santa Cruz, California road. (City of Santa Cruz)
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Image 11 of 12"As many as 6 homes near Fryman and Lockridge in Los Angeles are being evacuated after getting hit hard by mud slides. We’re seeing refrigerators, books, clothes, and pieces of homes floating down the road," posted a reporter on X. (@MattSeedorff / X)
![A water rescue in Riverside, California for three adults and a dog who became trapped within the Santa Ana River Bottom.]()
Image 12 of 12A water rescue in Riverside, California for three adults and a dog who became trapped within the Santa Ana River Bottom. (Image: Riverside Fire Department) (Riverside Fire Department)
At least three people have been killed by the atmospheric river storm, according to officials.
Police in the Northern California city of Yuba City, some 40 miles north of Sacramento, said they responded to a report that a tree had fallen on a man on Tres Picos Drive on Sunday.
According to police, it appeared as though the unidentified victim may have been using a ladder to try and clear the tree away from his home when it fell on top of him.
When officers arrived, they said they found the man under the large redwood tree and tried to revive him, but those attempts were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead.
Watch: Los Angeles River rages in Sherman Oaks
Video recorded in Sherman Oaks shows the Los Angeles River close to overflowing onto city streets as a deadly atmospheric river delivers torrential rain to Southern California.
A second person was also killed when a tree fell onto their home in Boulder Creek.
Officials say that two people were inside when a tree fell onto the Boulder Creek home. One was able to make it out, but a 45-year-old man was trapped inside and killed.
And in Sacramento County, a tree fell on a 41-year-old man on Sunday during the storm. He was transported to the nearby hospital, where he died due to his injuries.
WHY RARE ‘HIGH RISK’ FLOOD DAYS NEED TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY
Landslides, debris flows reported in Los Angeles area
Landslides send large boulders, debris down steep landscape of Hollywood Hills
FOX Weather Correspondent Max Gorden is in Los Angeles where landslides have sent large boulders and debris rushing down the steep landscape of the Hollywood Hills as a deadly atmospheric river continues to slam Southern California with torrential rain and damaging wind gusts.
FOX Weather Correspondent Max Gorden was in the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles early Monday morning when fast-moving water was seen rushing down the street due to the torrential rainfall in the region.
"You can see some of the debris right there," he said Monday morning on FOX Weather. "Large rocks, pieces of, what looks like trash and maybe pieces of some homes, we’re not exactly sure. But you can see all of this water flowing down the hill."
Watch: Water rushes down Los Angeles road during atmospheric river storm
FOX Weather Correspondent Max Gorden is in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles where widespread flooding has been reported as a powerful atmospheric river storm slams Southern California.
Those massive rocks were seen in the middle of the street, demonstrating the power of the water.
"You can see the water rushing down the street," Gorden continued. "Big rocks, just like this. And what really amazed me was to see rocks this size. This has got to be at least a few hundred pounds, and you can only imagine the force of the water to push all of this downslope."
See 90210 mudslide
The famed Beverly Hills zip 90210 suffered a mudslide early Monday morning. FOX Weather arrived before road crews.
State of Emergency declared
Watch: Water flows over historic dam at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Video shared by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden shows water flowing over a historic dam amid catastrophic flooding from a deadly atmospheric river that has been pounding Southern California.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency for several counties in California to help support storm response and recovery efforts.
The state had mobilized and prepositioned a record 8,500 emergency responders ready to respond to flooding, landslides and travel emergencies, according to the governor’s office.
Watch: Water rushes over bridge during flooding from atmospheric river storm in Santa Barbara
Video shared by the Santa Barbara Police Department in California shows water rushing over a bridge as a swollen river overflows its banks during an atmospheric river storm on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024.
The State of Emergency included Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.
The atmospheric river storm had also prompted emergency officials in several areas to order evacuations and open emergency shelters for residents.
Several schools in the area were also closed because of the extreme weather event, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.
Devastating flooding seen in Los Angeles County on Monday.
(Robert Ray / FOX Weather)
Travel impacted
Travel across the region has been impacted because of the effects of the atmospheric river.
Emergency officials in several communities have urged people to stay off roads due to fears that landslides, mudslides, rockslides and additional debris flows could severely damage roads, as well as cover them with floodwaters.
There have been reports of cars floating down the street in the Hollywood Hills, and the Santa Barbara Airport has been closed due to flooding on the airport’s runways.
The right lane of the southbound Interstate 405 just before the Sunset Boulevard off-ramp in Los Angeles was closed early Monday morning after a mudslide. Torrential rain from an atmospheric river storm has slammed Southern California leading to widespread flooding.
(CaltransDist7/X)
The airport said commercial flights had been canceled, general aviation operations were paused, and the terminal closed.
Several inches of rain left to come
Forecast rain totals through Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.
(FOX Weather)
Southern California from the Los Angeles area southward to San Diego will likely pick up an additional 2-3 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts of 3-5 inches also possible through Wednesday.