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Officials Urge California Residents to Brace for Flooding as El Niño Looms

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Jessica Garrison

With California facing the prospect of a second consecutive winter of heavy precipitation, state officials are urging residents to prepare for possible widespread flooding and evacuations in the coming months.

Barely a year after dozens of powerful atmospheric rivers pounded the state and triggered historic flooding, state officials gathered at a muddy berm and pumping station near the Sacramento River this week to highlight the threat of flooding in a warming climate.

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How Powerful Land Barons Shaped the Epic Floods in California’s Heartland

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Jessica Garrison, Susanne Rust, Ian James, Aida Ylanan

As dark clouds massed over Kings County on the chilly morning of March 18, scores of panicked farmers and landowners packed the Board of Supervisors chambers in Hanford for a third day of emergency hearings. They were there to hurl accusations and blame and to plead with county leaders to do something to divert the floodwaters that were submerging their fields and homes, sapping their livelihoods and now threatening to wipe out the city of Corcoran and farm towns across the region.

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El Niño is Coming This Winter. The Question is, Will It Be a Whopper?

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Phil Diehl

San Diego County’s fragile shoreline and vulnerable beachfront properties could be in for a rough winter, according to the California Coastal Commission, the National Weather Service and some top San Diego scientists.

“We are looking at an emerging El Niño event,” staff geologist Joseph Street told the Coastal Commission at its meeting Wednesday in Eureka.

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Post-Tropical Storm Hilary Pushes into Nevada After Drenching Southern California

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Christopher Weber, Damian Dovarganes and Jordi Lebrija

Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California from the coast to the desert resort city of Palm Springs and inland mountains, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers.

By early Monday, remnants of the storm that first brought soaking rains to Mexico’s arid Baja California peninsula and the border city of Tijuana, threatened Nevada and as far north as Oregon and Idaho with flooding.

Southern Californians were battling flooded roads, mudslides and downed trees.

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Hurricane Hilary Barrels Toward Southern California, Bringing Unprecedented Dangers

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Grace Toohey, Hayley Smith, Rong-Gong Lin II, Connor Sheets and Jeremy Childs

With Hurricane Hilary fast bearing down on the region, officials issued a tropical storm warning for a swath of Southern California Friday night — meaning tropical storm-force winds are expected in the region within the next 36 hours.

Southern California was already bracing for a rare and potentially destructive weekend. Such lashing winds would be only one of the storm’s potentially dangerous impacts, with forecasters also predicting intense rain, flash flooding in the desert and mountain areas and harrowing conditions along the beaches.

The storm has prompted officials to cancel events and issue dire alerts, particularly as the system moves across southwestern California on Sunday and Monday.

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Loveland Reservoir Expected to Spill Early Next Week Due to Tropical Storm, Flooding in Area Likely

/in , , /by /Sweetwater Authority

Chula Vista, Calif. – Due to expected heavy rainfall from tropical storm Hilary, Sweetwater Authority expects unplanned water releases, or spills, from Loveland Reservoir in Alpine, California may occur early next week. These potential unplanned water releases, together with expected abundant storm runoff, could cause flooding in areas downstream. Residents in the Sweetwater River flood-plain asked to prepare in order to reduce possibility of damage to property.

(Editor’s note: The Sweetwater Authority is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.) 

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Loveland Reservoir Expected to Spill Early Next Week Due to Tropical Storm, Flooding in Area Likely

/in , /by

Residents in the Sweetwater River flood-plain asked to prepare in order to reduce possibility of damage to property

Chula Vista, Calif. – Due to expected heavy rainfall from tropical storm Hilary, Sweetwater Authority expects unplanned water releases, or spills, from Loveland Reservoir in Alpine, California may occur early next week. These potential unplanned water releases, together with expected abundant storm runoff, could cause flooding in areas downstream.

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Hurricane Hilary on Path Toward Southern California

/in , /by /CBS Newsby Kerry Breen

A storm headed in the direction of Southern California has been upgraded to a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in a public advisory early Thursday morning. It is expected to bring heavy rainfall to parts of the state after hitting Mexico.

The storm’s remnants are likely to bring flooding rain as well as strong winds to some parts of California, including the Los Angeles Basin, The Weather Channel reports. Heavy rainfall is expected to impact the Southwestern United States from Friday through early next week, according to the hurricane center.

(Editor’s Note: Updates on Hilary from NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.)

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Agricultural Fields in California’s Tulare Lake Basin Could Be Underwater for Years to Come, Experts Say

/in , /by /ABC Newsby Julia Jacobo, Daniel Manzo, and Ginger Zee

Farmers in one of the most prominent agricultural communities in the country will likely be living an underwater nightmare for the foreseeable future. Central California’s Tulare Lake is filled past the brim, but with the blessings of an ample water supply also comes a curse: spillage that experts say could continue to drown fields and roadways for years to come.

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Map Shows Epic Amounts of Water Gushing Through California’s Rivers

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Jack Lee

This year’s historic snowpack has meant epic amounts of water flowing through California’s rivers, streams and creeks. … That’s more than the capacity of four standard 40-foot shipping containers rushing by each second. Around 40% of the roughly 500 stream gauges across the state are running above normal, provisional data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows. A few dozen are registering record highs for this time of year, especially along the central and southern Sierra. With peak melt season expected in the coming weeks, this means plentiful amounts of water running into reservoirs, but also dangerously fast flows and the risk for potential flooding.

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