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A series of storms passing over Northern California are expected to drench residents in rain and dump up to 2 feet of snow on the northern Sierra Nevada, a precious water resource the state relies on in the spring, the National Weather Service said.

 

The storms are expected to bypass Southern California, according to the weather service.

 

Starting Tuesday night, the first of the storms is expected to reach from San Mateo to Sonoma before moving farther inland toward the Sierra Nevada. The region’s forests between the coast and the mountains could see up to eight inches of rain by Monday while the mountains could get 2 feet of snow, said Karl Swanberg, a forecaster with the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office.

Much of the rain that fell on Southern California last week flowed to the Pacific Ocean, but a good amount was captured by local water agencies to help replenish the region’s local water supply.

With California entering what may be its fifth year of drought, water agencies are moving to capture and store more.

 

“That was the 19th-, 20th-century thinking: ‘Let’s get that water out of here as fast as possible,’ ” said Deborah Bloome, senior director of policy at TreePeople, a nonprofit group that is working to increase rain capture in the Los Angeles area.

Keeping California’s agricultural land in production depends on fixing its growing water problems.

 

As the state considers its options, many farmers want to revive the approach that worked for them in the last century: building dams. Not far from this tiny hamlet northeast of Fresno, for instance, the government is thinking of building a new artificial lake just above an existing one.

 

Doubts are growing about whether spending huge sums to pour high walls of concrete are the best way to solve California’s water problems.

This is it folks. This year’s Monster El Niño has finally hit! The incessant ringing of flash flood and tornado warnings on everyone’s phones are causing panic and chaos all over Southern California. Branches are falling, bugs are drowning, fire alarms are ringing and umbrellas are being torn to shreds. San Diegans are wondering why they never invested in a good pair of rain boots. People going out to buy their first umbrella in years are wondering why this never occurred to them before. UCSD students are shaking their fists at professors who refuse to cancel class even as inches of water cascades down the lecture hall stairs. As you cower under your comforters this week debating whether or not going to class will kill you, here are some tips on how to survive this year’s onslaught of water from above.