You are now in California and the U.S. category.

The rain is back, and it seems to be coming all at once. A band of dense, airborne moisture from the tropics — known as an atmospheric river — swirled into Northern California on Saturday and was expected to linger through Monday. In just 48 hours, the system dropped up to four inches of rain across much of the region, with as much as nine inches in the foothills and mountains, where warmer air meant snow fell only at the highest elevations.

Northern California’s major rivers swelled and then began receding during a pause between rainstorms Monday, leaving a trail of toppled trees and damaged roadways but no major urban flooding in Sacramento or elsewhere. The weekend’s big rainfall, the most Sacramento has seen in a two-day stretch since 2000, put another dent in the drought and left precipitation totals for the season at twice the average for this time of year. With a second storm expected to hit late Monday or early Tuesday, emergency officials remained watchful.

Emergency crews in rescue boats and helicopters rushed to take advantage of a one-day break between storms Monday to rescue stranded people and assess damage after the heaviest rain in a decade overwhelmed parts of California and Nevada. Wine country in Sonoma County, California, was among the hardest hit areas, with up to 13 inches of rain since Friday. Rolling hills and vineyards along the scenic route known as River Road were submerged Monday with just the tips of vines visible in completely flooded fields.

The San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego took steps last week to determine interest in a new pumped storage opportunity at the San Vicente Reservoir site that could potentially help the region meet its future energy needs. The project would consist of an interconnection and pumping system between the existing San Vicente Reservoir and a new, smaller reservoir located uphill.