CALIFORNIA – As the tail end of a series of storms covering California for the past week descends on the southern end of the state.
While it is an area in need of the moisture, as many of last year's rains missed the southern half of the state, officials and weather experts are warning about flooding, severe winds and rains, and noting that evacuations may be in order.
“Another moisture-laden storm system will slam into California through Monday morning, bringing more heavy rain and mountain snow,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Jordan Root said, in a report issued early this morning.
The National Weather Service has maintained flash flood warnings through much of the region—from San Francisco, down through the central coast, to much of Southern California.
According to Accuweather, storms earlier this week forced evacuations as far south as Santa Clarita in Los Angeles county, where wildfires earlier in the year have hampered the region’s ability to absorb groundwater.
The Associated Press reports that traffic has been diverted off interstates 110 and 710 south of downtown Los Angeles because of water flowing across lanes, and hundreds of homes in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Orange counties, near wildfire burn areas, have been evacuated.
Mudslides and flooding have led to several road closures in the vicinity, and throughout the state.
In addition to heavy rain, snow continues to dump on the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
“The Sierras will likely see another few feet of snow through Monday,” Root said. Accuweather noted the likelihood of road closures on the 1-80 Donner Summit, and even noted that plunging snow levels could cause delays as far south as the Grapevine section of I-5.
Major travel disruptions are expected as far east as the i-40 corridor near Flagstaff, AZ, along with Reno, Nevada and areas throughout the Rocky Mountains.
As the week progresses and the storm proceeds southward, weather conditions are expected to become more gentle, with lighter periods of rain diminishing throughout the week.
