![]() A historic amount of snow fell in the mountains over the past two weeks, clogging roads and trapping residents. In Southern California, the rain had many residents of the San Bernardino Mountains bracing for what it might do to the thick blankets of snow that covered rooftops. The executive order took effect on Friday and will last through June 10. Water agencies and experts say that the state’s strict rules limiting who can take water from streams and creeks have prohibited local agencies from capturing the excess flows, even though stored water is desperately needed to prepare for the state’s next dry period. The move comes after criticism that California had flushed trillions of gallons of water out to sea during repeated deluges of rain this winter. By easing state rules, the order allows local water agencies to more easily redirect floodwater to replenish the state’s severely depleted groundwater supplies. Newsom announcing an executive order on Friday that would take advantage of California’s enormous snowpack and at least two more atmospheric rivers that are expected to arrive in the next few days. The compounding of inclement weather in a drought-riddled state led to Mr. Officials said that flood control dams on major creeks near Planada were expected to reach their maximum capacity by Friday evening. “Everybody is afraid right now,” said Rodrigo Espinosa, a county supervisor who represents Planada, nine miles east of Merced. Two months ago, hundreds of houses and cars in the small farmworkers’ community were destroyed during an atmospheric river. Planada, a small town in Merced County that suffered some of the worst flooding from California’s storms in January, was also under an evacuation order. park was evacuated because of flooding from the rapidly moving Kings River. ![]() Farm crews worked to pump water away from the crops. In the tiny coastal town of Soquel, hundreds of residents were trapped when a creek overflowed and washed away part of a main road that was the only access route for a mountain community.Ībout 150 miles inland in Fresno County, dark skies extended over fields drowned in torrents of rain. When the storm moved south, residents of an enormous swath of the central region of the state were on high alert for flash flooding.Ĭrews begin repairing a road that was washed out by heavy rains in Soquel, Calif., on Friday. Palisades Tahoe, a popular ski resort north of Lake Tahoe where the 1960 Winter Olympics were held, announced on Twitter that it would close on Friday “due to high avalanche danger and flooding.” The resort said that ridge-top winds had reached 139 miles an hour, and that there was rain falling at elevations as high as 8,500 feet - evidence of the atmospheric river’s warm precipitation, after weeks of blizzards in the region.Ĭrews in South Lake Tahoe have spent the week clearing snow from roads, but for a while on Friday, they had to focus on removing the snow and ice that was blocking storm drains and causing flooding around the city. Intense rain and howling wind brought down some trees and branches there overnight. Monterey, a onetime fishing town now better known for its sunbathing California sea lions and famed aquarium, had been off line since Thursday evening, with no working traffic lights and only dark windows at businesses and homes. Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said that about 9,400 people across the state were under evacuation orders, and more than 54,000 utility customers were without power.Ī fallen tree uprooted at a home due to heavy rain and wind in Monterey, Calif. ![]() One male employee died and a female employee was injured. The latest storm began Thursday night with heavy rain in the Bay Area, and was believed to have been a factor in the collapse of the roof of an Oakland warehouse used by Peet’s Coffee. “The last two floods, it was all over the fields and all of the roads,” he said. Lopez has noticed that the lettuce is growing too slowly. The wet winter has meant that farmers’ fertilizing and harvesting schedules have been thrown off. The onslaught of recent storms over the last few months has taken a toll on crops and on the labor force. Lopez, who grew up in the area, recalled that when storms would hit a few decades ago, he would play in the water, floating down the river in an inner tube. ![]() “People start panicking this time of year,” said Alex Lopez, 54, who is employed at a local farm that harvests lettuce and broccoli. In places like Watsonville, a city of about 50,000 in Santa Cruz County accustomed to fog and cool temperatures, there has been a shudder of “not again” every time inclement weather approaches. A car is surrounded by floodwaters in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday. ![]()
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