California emerges from ‘parade of storms’ with recovery efforts in ravaged state

Snow piled up on California’s peaks and mountain passes this weekend, closing roads for avalanche control work, shutting down traffic and forcing at least one ski resort, the Sierra in Tahoe, to cancel operations on Monday despite “legendary” ski conditions.

Snowpack in California is on pace for a wonderful season after almost three weeks of atmospheric river storms have hit California with heavy rainfall. Each region of the Sierra Nevada has over 200% of the typical snow cover for that time of year.

“Epic levels,” state climatologist Michael Anderson said at a briefing on Monday. “We’re ahead of the record packs of ’82 and ’83.”

This Sunday, January 1, 2023, a photo released by Caltrans District 3 shows the Sierra Highway is reopened, but circuit control remains in place as crews clean up in South Lake Tahoe, California.  a severe storm brought heavy rain or heavy snowfall to much of the state, hampering traffic and closing roads.
The Sierra Highway road is open but chain control remains in place as crews clean up in South Lake Tahoe, California on January 1, 2023.Caltrans District 3 via AP file

This means that the state’s snow cover, which typically accounts for about 30% of its water supply, is the highest on that date since records began in 1950.

Heavy snow cover in California should help ease some of the state’s fears of a drought this summer, but it also raises the chance of spring floods as all the accumulated moisture evaporates.

“This sets the stage for a potential solution to flooding issues as we go through the snowmelt season, something to keep in mind,” Anderson said. The likelihood of spring floods will depend on how much more snow accumulates this winter.

The current string of storms is expected to end this week. California has had nine atmospheric river storms since Christmas, Anderson said. On Wednesday, the tenth is expected, but it is much weaker and will not cause such heavy precipitation.

“Finally we are weathering the parade of storms,” Anderson said. “We are starting to see the rivers overcome the last crests and begin to recede.”

The impact of the hurricane was felt across the state on Monday. Rescuers were able to find and rescue a man trapped in flood waters in Otay Lakes, near San Diego. San Diego County Fire Department. Meanwhile, a landslide blocked part of State Route 13 in the Oakland area, according to the state department of transportation.

On January 11, 2023, residents of the small unincorporated town of Piru, east of Fillmore, California, are trying to push back wet mud that has stuck in cars and filled some homes.  A series of powerful storms continue to hit California, in stark contrast to the severe to extreme droughts of the past three years that have plagued much of the state.  Storms wreak havoc but bring heavy rainfall that, while not promising to end the drought, helps replenish reservoirs that have been reduced to historical lows by the drought.
A resident works to push back wet mud that got stuck in cars and invaded some homes in Piru, east of Fillmore, Calif., on Wednesday.David McNew/Getty Images

Anderson said forecasts predict dry weather in California for the next two weeks, giving the state a chance to dry out after heavy rainfall continued to destroy infrastructure and force rescuers over the weekend.

A video posted Saturday in Pescadero showed a rain-soaked hillside collapse that caused part of his asphalt roadway to roll down the ravine.

Several sections of Coastal Highway 1 were unstable or buried under landslidesThis is stated in a tweet from the California Department of Transportation.

Lifeguards in Orange County dragged a man out of a storm drain on a Saturday nightone of several storm-related rescues reported in the state.

Weeks of seemingly incessant rain and snow have taken a toll on the state.

California Geological Survey counted at least 402 landslides since December 30 and at least 19 people died due to severe weather. Officials are just beginning to estimate the timing of the cleanup.

In Ventura County, the sheriff’s office said debris about 40 feet high had accumulated on one of the roads in the canyon. They expected it could take up to three weeks to clear the roadway and up to six months to repair.

President Joe Biden on Saturday announced that a major natural disaster had struck California, making federal disaster funding available to residents of hard-hit Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties.

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