Southern California is bracing for its biggest storm of the season, which is slated to deliver potentially damaging and life-threatening rain, wind and flooding to the region.
There was a time when Lois and Jeff Scott’s El Cajon front yard was awash in lawn, from the street to just a few feet from the house itself, where a bed grew roses and a large rosemary bush.
In winter 2021, more than 150,000 people living in Jackson, Miss., were left without running water. Faucets were dry or dribbling a muddy brown.
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed an ultra-sensitive sensor made with graphene that can detect extraordinarily low concentrations of lead ions in water. The device achieves a record limit of detection of lead down to the femtomolar range, which is one million times more sensitive than previous sensing technologies.
Another powerful storm arrived in Southern California with at least three straight days of rain in the forecast for San Diego County, and authorities warning of potentially dangerous flooding Monday.
California was deluged by damaging atmospheric rivers last year and now the Golden State must brace for two more on the way this week. The photo below, taken Tuesday afternoon by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s GOES-West satellite, shows a massive storm approaching from the west.
Additional swift-water rescue teams and assistance from the U.S. National Guard will be on tap when the next big storm arrives Thursday, officials said Tuesday, even as many worked to recover from the flash flood that upended so many lives just eight days ago.
Ahead of another severe storm warning, Mayor Todd Gloria issued an evacuation warning Wednesday to low-lying areas of the city, devastated by flooding last week. The evacuation is currently voluntary, said the mayor, and designed to keep the public ready should an evacuation become mandatory.
The San Diego River is prone to flooding, especially during conditions like Thursday’s expected storm. Hundreds of unhoused people living along the riverbed are especially vulnerable to rising waters. It was a race against time on Wednesday to ensure everybody knows it.
Northern California water managers are preparing for a stretch of wet weather by releasing water from several major reservoirs this week. At 8 a.m. Wednesday, the California Department of Water Resources began releasing water down the main spillway at Oroville Dam. Initial releases were at 6,000 cubic feet per second.
