90 percent of California under flood watches

Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech
·2 min read
12

Story at a glance

  • Californians are again being pummeled by heavy rainstorms this week.

  • On Monday, the National Weather Service issued flood watches for 34 million Californians, or 90 percent of the state’s total population.

  • California has been hit by almost non-stop rainstorms since late December.

Most of California is under flood watches after the latest wave of heavy rainstorms has caused deluged roads and triggered mudslides.

The National Weather Service issued flood watches on Monday for about 34 million Californians or around 90 percent of the Golden State’s total population.

California has experienced an almost non-stop barrage of heavy rainstorms since the beginning of January with more expected to hit the state later this week.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

As a result, almost all of California has received between 400 and 600 percent above-average rainfall totals over the past few weeks, according to the NWS.

Evacuation orders have been issued for parts of southern California like Santa Barbara County including all of Montecito due to the risk posed by flash floods and strong wind gusts.

Montecito’s evacuation order comes on the fifth anniversary of a deadly mudslide that killed 23 people.

The Nordhoff Ridge in southern California has been swamped in over 14 inches of water over the last 24 hours while the San Marcos Pass has been drenched in over 12 inches of rainfall.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said that as of Monday the storms have killed at least 14 people across the state and hundreds of thousands have been left without power.

More than 197,000 customers do not have power across California, according to PowerOutage.us, an online tracker or blackouts throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

“Our message to Californians is simple: be hyper-vigilant,” said Newsom in a statement. “There are still several days of severe winter weather ahead and we need all Californians to be alert and heed the advice of emergency officials.”

After a short respite on Tuesday, another storm is predicted to hit the Golden State on Wednesday, this time mostly impacting northern California and Washington state.

By Wednesday, the storms will have drenched most of California with three to seven inches of water, according to the NWS.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.