Massive California storm brings flooding and triggers evacuations

By Adrienne Vogt and Aditi Sangal, CNN

Updated 7:29 p.m. ET, January 10, 2023
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10:19 a.m. ET, January 10, 2023

California continues to reel under more than a foot of rainfall in some areas. Here's a look.

Abandoned cars are left in a flooded street in Santa Barbara on January 9.
Abandoned cars are left in a flooded street in Santa Barbara on January 9. (Erica Urech/Reuters)

Rainfall totals continue to rise as rain moves through California today. Southern California has been hit particularly hard the last 24 to 48 hours with more than a foot of rainfall.

“Nearly all of California has seen much above average rainfall totals over the past several weeks, with totals 400-600% above average values,” the Weather Prediction Center said Tuesday.

Here are the two-day rainfall totals in inches as of 4 a.m. Tuesday morning:

  • Nordhoff Ridge (Ventura County): 16.89 inches
  • Matilija Dam (Ventura County): 16.69 inches
  • San Marcos Pass (Santa Barbara County): 16.57 inches
  • White Ledge Peak (Ventura County): 15.75 inches
  • Rose Valley (Ventura County): 14.13 inches
  • El Deser (Santa Barbara County): 13.70 inches
  • KTYD Tower (Santa Barbara County): 13.55 inches
  • Alisal Reservoir (Santa Barbara County): 13.43 inches
  • Telecolote Canyon (Santa Barbara County): 13.39 inches

Additional rainfall totals from the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles can be found here.

A flood warning remains in place for western Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties until 8 a.m. PT.

9:45 a.m. ET, January 10, 2023

One solution to California's climate woes? Let the rivers flood instead of controlling them, scientist says

From CNN's René Marsh

California has gone from extreme drought to extreme flooding in a matter of days, with 90% of the state’s population under a flood watch as another round of storms rolled through. The abrupt shift highlights the dilemma California faces: How do you manage an overwhelming amount of rain in a water-scarce state? And is it possible to harness that water so it’s available in the dry summer months?

Part of the solution, climate scientists told CNN, is drawing levees back to allow rivers more room to flood safely into surrounding land.

“We have to let our rivers flow differently, and let the rivers flood a little more and recharge our groundwater in wet seasons,” Peter Gleick, a climate scientist and co-founder of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, told CNN. “Instead of thinking we can control all floods, we have to learn to live with them.”

Levees have effectively protected communities in the past, Gleick said, but they’re not designed for the climate-change challenges of today.

“We need new thinking, we need to operate that infrastructure differently, we need to change some of the characteristics of that infrastructure,” Gleick said. “That will allow us to capture more of these flood flows, store it underground in these aquifers, and then use those ground water resources when we need them in dry years.”

Many climate experts agree – using levees to prevent floods during the wet season means less water is available to seep into underground aquifers. Those aquifers are a vital source of water for drinking, bathing and agriculture across California’s Central Valley, and they are running dry.

But giving rivers more space to flood has a catch. It means entire communities would need to relocate; the process is known as managed retreat.

Nicholas Pinter, a researcher and professor of applied geosciences at the University of California at Davis, acknowledged managed retreat is a tall task but noted other countries are doing it.

“We are behind the curve on this,” Pinter told CNN. “The Europeans in the 1990s started doing this. They made a multi-billion-euro investment to draw levees back.”

Pinter said the US has always leaned toward building infrastructure to provide protection.

“We have always had an engineering mentality with strong property rights,” Pinter said. “There’s also an intense resistance by property owners when it comes to giving up their property rights.”

There’s also the threat of pushback from political leaders worried about property tax revenue loss and the loss of land for building and development, Pinter said.

A concept like managed retreat requires a mentality shift that will be extremely difficult to achieve, Gleick said. “These changes are absolutely easier said than done but they have to be done.”

Both Pinter and Gleick said managed retreat is just one tool in the box when it comes to adapting to more extreme weather. Gleick noted there are a litany of other policies states should consider.

“We have to redesign insurance policies so that we are not rebuilding houses once they’ve been damaged in the same places where they are going to flood again, Gleick said. “We have to design flood insurance policies to encourage people to move away from flood plains, so we can open up those floodplains, so when we get those floods they will be less damaging.”

9:23 a.m. ET, January 10, 2023

Cars and trucks get stuck in 3 feet of mud on California highway

From CNN’s Amanda Jackson

California Highway Patrol in Moorpark released photos of vehicles — including a semi-truck – stuck in 3 feet of mudflow and rocks late Monday into early Tuesday.

The CHP noted that Highway 126 was completely closed.

Moorpark is northwest of Los Angeles.

10:34 a.m. ET, January 10, 2023

Why atmospheric rivers can be so devastating

From CNN's Jennifer Gray

A home is seen partially underwater in Gilroy, California, on January 9.
A home is seen partially underwater in Gilroy, California, on January 9. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

The system wreaking havoc in California is part of an atmospheric river – a long, narrow region in the atmosphere that can transport moisture thousands of miles, like a fire hose in the sky.

While they may not make headlines in the same way hurricanes do, they can have extreme consequences.

“Atmospheric rivers can span the whole Pacific. They are long and narrow, but they’re way larger than hurricanes,” according to Atmospheric River Reconnaissance Coordinator Anna Wilson.

They are crucial to the West Coast. Half the rain and snow the West gets comes from atmospheric rivers, which are plumes of moisture coming in from the Pacific Ocean. And they cross an area with very few observation sites, making them challenging to forecast.

Until the last few years, forecasters had to rely solely on satellites and forecast models for forecasting atmospheric rivers, which can become very muddy without truly knowing what’s happening inside the storms.

But now, the University of California-San Diego, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes have teamed up with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters who are able to drop instruments called “dropsondes” inside an atmospheric river, to relay pinpointed live weather data. The information is immediately put into weather forecast models, which improves the accuracy of the forecast dramatically.

Read more about the hurricane hunters targeting atmospheric rivers here.

9:09 a.m. ET, January 10, 2023

A look at the stats and numbers behind the "most impressive storm in nearly 20 years"

From CNN's Brandon Miller

The current atmospheric river-fueled storm hammering California is the most impressive storm in nearly 20 years, according to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles.

Many locations saw more than a month’s worth of rain in one day over the past 24 hours. Here's what else to know:

  • Santa Barbara had the rainiest January day on record with 4.22 inches officially at the airport. This is more than a month’s worth of rain in one day. This was also the fourth rainiest day of all — in nearly 30,000 days of records going back to 1941.
  • San Louis Obispo had its wettest day on record, with 4.10 inches of rain totaled yesterday. 
  • Santa Maria recorded 3.42 inches of rain in one day, more than the January average of 2.74 inches. This is the third rainiest day in more than 100 years of records.
  • Bishop, California, set a daily record and a monthly record with 3.02 inches of rain. This also ranks as the fifth wettest day ever recorded at Bishop.

Some river rises and records:

  • The Ventura River, north of Venturarose 17 feet in 12 hours yesterday, reaching an all-time record crest more than 25 feet for the first time ever last night at 10 p.m. local time. Records on the river go back to at least 1938.
  • The Salinas River, near Salinas, is expected to crest more than 27 feet tomorrow afternoon, this would be the second highest crest in more than 90 years of records, behind only March of 1995. Before the atmospheric river events began in late December, the river was below 5 feet in elevation. 
  • The Santa Ynez River, near Lompoc, has risen 13 feet in less than 24 hours and is still rising. At 16.9 feet, it is at its highest level since 2005.
9:26 a.m. ET, January 10, 2023

Storm causes sewer system overflow into the streets in parts of Santa Barbara

From CNN’s Joe Sutton 

The storm system in California has led to the release of sewage in parts of Santa Barbara, according to officials.

“The storm caused flows through the sewer system to exceed capacity resulting in the release of sewage from the system to the street,” Santa Barbara County Supervising Environmental Health Specialist Jason Johnston told CNN Monday evening.

In response to the spill of untreated sewage, the county's public health department issued a beach closure notice.

“The spill involved a release of at least 5,000 gallons of sewage to a storm drain discharging to Mission Creek, near Vernon Road and Serena Road in Santa Barbara. As a result, West Beach from Santa Barbara Harbor to 2,000 feet east of the eastern Mission Creek outfall has been closed to recreational water contact. The affected area has been posted with signs warning the public to avoid contact with the water until sample results indicate the water is safe for recreational use,” according to a news release from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.

The health department also asked residents to not contact the water as it could lead to various illnesses. 

“Storm water is untreated rain water that flows through the drain system into creeks, the ocean, and other waterways. Contact with storm water while swimming or surfing may increase the risk for certain types of illnesses such as rashes, fever, chills, ear infections, vomiting, and diarrhea,” the release said.

10:17 a.m. ET, January 10, 2023

Here's what California can expect on Tuesday

From CNN's Robert Shackelford

As a powerful storm continues to batter California, here's what the state can expect on Tuesday.

These storms are connected to the atmospheric river that has been pouring heavy rain, high winds and heavy snow across the area.

  • Flood watches remain for over 34 million people. 
  • Another round of moisture will begin to impact the Bay Area and northern California through Tuesday morning and spread to all of California by the afternoon/evening.
  • Expect more flash flood warnings and evacuation orders as saturated ground and heavy rains leads to more widespread problems.
  • There are now over 30 million people under a marginal threat of severe weather (level 1 of 5) across the Southwest on Tuesday. 
  • Cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Long Beach and Las Vegas are all in the threat of severe storms through the day.
  • Level 3 of 4 threat for flooding and excessive rain will be centered over the Los Angeles Basin.
  • Flash flooding is likely in many areas in and around Los Angeles through much of the day, tapering off in the late afternoon and evening.
  • The rest of the state continues to see more scattered showers and also thunderstorms, and the flood threat continues over much of the state along with heavy snow in the mountains.

These storms are connected to the atmospheric river that has been pouring heavy rain, high winds and heavy snow across the area.

8:25 a.m. ET, January 10, 2023

One weather-related death confirmed in San Luis Obispo County, officials say

From CNN’s Joe Sutton and Raja Razek

Authorities in San Luis Obispo County confirm there has been a weather-related death that occurred on Monday afternoon.

A motorist died in Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County in what is being called a weather-related death, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office told CNN Monday evening.

Separately, the severe weather has forced authorities to suspend the search for a missing 5-year-old who was reported to have been swept away in floodwaters near the Salinas River in San Miguel, according to the sheriff's office. 

"At approximately three o'clock this afternoon (3 p.m. PT), the sheriff's underwater search and rescue team — the dive team — discontinued the search for the 5-year-old missing child, because the weather had become too severe and it was not safe anymore for first responders to be conducting the search," public information officer Tony Cipolla told CNN by phone.  

Cal Fire and sheriff's deputies have been searching for the missing 5-year-old since around 8 a.m. PT Monday. 

"They suspended it for the time being and then with the hopes that they will be able to resume it at some point in the future — either tonight or tomorrow, weather permitting," Cipolla said. 

8:39 a.m. ET, January 10, 2023

At least 14 dead from storms that have swept California over past few weeks, governor says

From CNN’s Chris Boyette

Fourteen people have died in the series of storms causing widespread damage, flooding and evacuations while bringing record rainfalls to California over the past several weeks, according to the governor’s office.

“As of Monday afternoon, winter storms have claimed the lives of 14 Californians – more lives than wildfires in the past two years combined,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said in a news release.

According to the National Weather Service, “the next in the seemingly never ending parade of strong wet Pacific systems pushes more heavy precipitation across all of California on Tuesday.”