WEATHER 37 million Californians are in the crosshairs of a historic rainstorm

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
I am near the I-15 in the high desert. A couple of miles from Cajon Pass. We have been getting clobbered all night with high winds and raining steady. I have no idea if I have any tree damage. More than likely the warehouse office has water in it the way it blew the rain. There are going to be some flooded homes up here and intersections again and Lucerne Dry Lake is going to look like Tahoe. Havnt seen that since before the drought.
Anyway still here for now.
 

Melodi

Disaster Cat
Horrible as this is (and it is); it is part of a historical weather pattern that goes back at least a century or more. During the severe storms of the early 1970s (that 1972 storm trapped us at school; my Dad got me out before the roads flooded, but Los Osos was isolated for several days), our elderly neighbor said the same thing happened in the 1930s. He also said the same hills came down as before, only this time, more of them had houses on them.

The difference was in the "forgotten" storms of my Dad's childhood and, to a lesser degree, in mine; you didn't know they were coming. You might know it was going to rain, but you had no idea your area was about to get 16 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. I think that storm sent the creek into the radio station in San Luis Obispo. A member here wrote me that I had the year wrong on that. They had worked in the building. I said I was a young teenager, so I'm sure I just got the year wrong, but the damage to downtown from the fast flooding was accurate.

Because you didn't know they were coming, there weren't days of panic and screams about climate change (unless it was to declare the Ice Age was coming). On the other hand, there wasn't time to prepare and evacuate the coastal and hillside dwellings to safer areas. A friend's grandfather ( retired doctor) ended up delivering his daughter's baby because they were cut off from the hospital. Today, someone close to giving birth might have gone to a safer area or a motel near the hospital with enough lead time.

So it's as tedious as they can get, especially when a big storm decides to slow down or move in another direction; having warnings saves many lives. Even if propaganda artists can try to use it to scare people into thinking this is something new. My Dad said something about the storms of the 1970s, reminding him of the ones in the 1940s, though I don't know if they were technically as severe. But the fire-drought-flood cycle was the same. In the 19th century, the Central Valley flooded to form an inland sea for several years; so far, that hasn't happened yet.
 

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
It's been raining hard and heavy all night long here on the mountain. Will be interesting when it gets light to see what our rain gauges say. Our normally dry creek has been running strong.
Any flash fflooding? I see 138 is closed. I'll be interested in how much rain you are getting. I would guess we got around 1 to 2 inches so far based on an experienced guess. Wasn't able to put anything out to measure darn it that was fun to keep checking.
 

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
Horrible as this is (and it is); it is part of a historical weather pattern that goes back at least a century or more. During the severe storms of the early 1970s (that 1972 storm trapped us at school; my Dad got me out before the roads flooded, but Los Osos was isolated for several days), our elderly neighbor said the same thing happened in the 1930s. He also said the same hills came down as before, only this time, more of them had houses on them.

The difference was in the "forgotten" storms of my Dad's childhood and, to a lesser degree, in mine; you didn't know they were coming. You might know it was going to rain, but you had no idea your area was about to get 16 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. I think that storm sent the creek into the radio station in San Luis Obispo. A member here wrote me that I had the year wrong on that. They had worked in the building. I said I was a young teenager, so I'm sure I just got the year wrong, but the damage to downtown from the fast flooding was accurate.

Because you didn't know they were coming, there weren't days of panic and screams about climate change (unless it was to declare the Ice Age was coming). On the other hand, there wasn't time to prepare and evacuate the coastal and hillside dwellings to safer areas. A friend's grandfather ( retired doctor) ended up delivering his daughter's baby because they were cut off from the hospital. Today, someone close to giving birth might have gone to a safer area or a motel near the hospital with enough lead time.

So it's as tedious as they can get, especially when a big storm decides to slow down or move in another direction; having warnings saves many lives. Even if propaganda artists can try to use it to scare people into thinking this is something new. My Dad said something about the storms of the 1970s, reminding him of the ones in the 1940s, though I don't know if they were technically as severe. But the fire-drought-flood cycle was the same. In the 19th century, the Central Valley flooded to form an inland sea for several years; so far, that hasn't happened yet.
The storms were bad in 1957 too. I waded through flooded intersections when I got off the bus to go to Huntington Park High. Also lost our avocado tree to a lightning strike.
 

Melodi

Disaster Cat
The storms were bad in 1957 too. I waded through flooded intersections when I got off the bus to go to Huntington Park High. Also lost our avocado tree to a lightning strike.
I knew there were other periods and smaller but intense events. When I returned for New Year's in the middle to late 1990s, I was staying in San Francisco. But we were attending the big New Year's Eve ball in Berkeley that I had attended since the 1980s (including flying out from Denver). Anyway, for some reason, my friend and I felt moved to leave almost as soon as "The Last Waltz" was over.

We got back to San Francisco just after 1 am. and the heavens let loose. Another friend's office in Oakland was wholly flooded out. I gathered some of the streets turned into rivers within minutes, and the flash flooding created chaos for people leaving parties. Thankfully, I don't think anyone died, but there was a lot of destruction where the water hit. That flood was more local, but I remember it was typical of that sudden downpour weather pattern.

The other scary thing about California is that the droughts can last so long that people get used to them. I was at a camping event at Harbin Hot Springs when a friend had left completely exposed to a very fancy but delicate campsite. He went camping, and the rain started. He returned to find me trying to cover things and dry out stuff partly ruined by the storm. He was in shock, but then I realized that being in his early 20s, it has NEVER RAINED, especially in the Summer, in his adult life. That drought was about seven years before it broke.

The longer the drought, the worse the fires and flood damage will be when the rain starts. And sudden buckets of 12, 16, 18 inches of rain in a short period (like an afternoon) are not uncommon either.
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
OK, just checked my rain gauges. Temp this morning at 5,500 ft San Bernardino mountains is 40F degrees.

Stratus Rain Gauge: 5.2" since yesterday afternoon.
1707153506224.jpeg

Frog Rain Gauge: 6.0" since yesterday afternoon.
1707154433392.jpeg

ACURITE Wireless Weather Station: 3.73" since midnight. 10.67" year to date.

1707154184924.jpeg

Basically.....it's FRIGGEN WET OUTSIDE. And it's still coming down hot and heavy. I would imagine that the folks in the low lying areas are getting flooded and all the rivers that are usually dry are raging right now
 
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West

Senior
Found a vary interesting link on the lakes and fisheries that was just destroyed what amounts to a fresh water grab by California's southern valleys. Now with these current rains and the concentrations of nitrates and phosphates, that will kill the vary fish habitats they said they would save. For decades.

The money quote... from link....


[The result of removing Iron Gate and Copco 1 dams:

1) Draining 45-Billion gallons of reserve fresh water held in Copco and Iron Gate lakes along with the beneficial blue-green algae that naturally mitigate the excess nitrates and phosphates from Agri-production and natural sources (SEE IMAGE of nitrogen mitigation by blue-green algae).
More about the benefits of blue-green algae here: Blue-green Algae in Copco and Iron Gate Lakes Behind Klamath River Dams: Nature's Solution for Anthropogenic Nitrates ; and,

2) Sending the estimated 20-million metric yards of polluted clay sediments sitting behind the dams that are laced with high concentrations of nitrates and phosphates, down the Klamath River; and

3) Silting-in spawning beds (redds) that are critical to maintain the existing runs for salmon and trout; and

4) Causing the eutrophication of the entire Klamath River.

The end result will be a dead river for a decade or more!

The End Game; Putting the Klamath Basin Farmers and Ranchers in Check

Then, when there are zero fish left in the entire Klamath River as a result of this monumental intentionally-planned pollution event, the Native American tribes down river, who are unfortunately unknowing pawns in this horrific elitist chess game, will as planned, call-in the EPA, DEQ and other organizations from both California and Oregon to conduct a study and water analysis.

Their water analysis will show that; the total dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus in the Klamath River as being exceedingly high, now that the former natural mitigation system performed by the Blue-Green algae in Copco and Iron Gate lakes are gone and drained to sea, along with the 45-Billion gallons of fresh water that was held in reserve in those lakes.

Final Move - Checkmate - Farmers and Ranchers Lose]

End quote.

With out the dams I think the river hwy 96 from I-5 to 101 will be washed out in most low lieing places. Destroying many small communities and what little private properties there is.

These current rain storms may start it off.
 

Hermantribe

Veteran Member
Ohhh noooooooo. Disneyland is flooded! struck me as funny somehow. I was there a week ago and wondered about the low area leading into Toontown. Guess the stroller parking is underwater.
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
Hot on the heels of a drenching storm and a low-end atmospheric river that affected California from Wednesday to Thursday, a more potent storm and high-end atmospheric river will roll ashore Saturday night and Sunday with major impacts that will threaten lives, property and travel into next week, AccuWeather meteorologists continue to warn.
The term "atmospheric river" has been trotted out recently every time California gets rained on. I'd never heard it before. It looks as if it'll stick in the weather-guessers' lexicon.
 

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
We just been light rain all day but it is picking up now. I know 2 people with leaking roofs. Hope mine holds up. It was a good old fashioned roofer did it but it is 24 years old.
 

marsh

On TB every waking moment
Sunny here today. (S. of Sacramento) Light wind. Supposed to have risk of thunderstorms today & tonight. Then partly cloudy with chance of showers the rest of the week.
 

JeanCat

Veteran Member
I am near the I-15 in the high desert. A couple of miles from Cajon Pass. We have been getting clobbered all night with high winds and raining steady. I have no idea if I have any tree damage. More than likely the warehouse office has water in it the way it blew the rain. There are going to be some flooded homes up here and intersections again and Lucerne Dry Lake is going to look like Tahoe. Havnt seen that since before the drought.
Anyway still here for now.
Is the drought broken and the reservoirs filled??
 

tnphil

Don't screw with an engineer
Look for this event to trigger a lot more legislation about "climate change". Cali politicians think they can mandate the weather.
For those of you poor souls living there, get out. You are welcome in our sane states, just don't bring liberal voting here.
 

marsh

On TB every waking moment
My parents are buried at Miramar Nat Cemetery in San Diego. I hope that does not flood.

My son said the Klamath draining has been a nightmare for fish and wildlife. Last week they counted 12 deer stuck in the mud that could not be salvaged. Also, the Upper Klamath has the largest grouping of bald eagles in the continental US. Apparently, they are eating dead fish & wildlife that is toxic.
 

West

Senior
My parents are buried at Miramar Nat Cemetery in San Diego. I hope that does not flood.

My son said the Klamath draining has been a nightmare for fish and wildlife. Last week they counted 12 deer stuck in the mud that could not be salvaged. Also, the Upper Klamath has the largest grouping of bald eagles in the continental US. Apparently, they are eating dead fish & wildlife that is toxic.
Bet the hundreds of pelicans that have made the upper Klamath lakes their home will also eat the now toxic fish and get sick.

About 4 minutes of what Copco use to look like...

View: https://youtu.be/zrickRh_WF4
 

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
Is the drought broken and the reservoirs filled??
I think most of them are but this is the first decent rain my area has had in a long time. Most of the storms this year missed us as they have every year since the monsoons stopped.
I saw they had to let water out of the Silverwood dam into the Mojave River so it filled. Hard to get any news up here but I imagine that release wiped out Rock Springs Road where it crosses and probably flooded out some farmland in Helendale.
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
UPDATE SoCal Mountains: Add another 4 1/2 inches of rain to yesterday's totals. That puts us at 9.7 inches of rain so far in this storm. This morning it just started a wintery mix of snow/grapple/rain. Locally predicted to get colder (34F right now) as the day goes on and anywhere from 1-6 inches of snow. Figure roughly 12 inches of snow per one inch of rain. If that holds true and we get similar rain results as yesterday we could actually be looking at several feet of snow at our 5,500ft elevation. They are predicting snow down to 4,000 feet.

Just keeping fingers crossed that we're not in for another SNOWMAGEDDON. Depending on who's forecasting the weather this storm could blow out tomorrow or the next day. Overall this storm is made of much warmer stuff than last year, which is a good thing for us here on the mountain. Time will tell. Whatever happens the Shadow Homestead is well stocked up with all our needs....firewood, food, back up gennie and most important of all......wine! :groucho: We'll fair through this just fine.
 

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
Its been back to a light rain for the last couple of hours. But it's cold 42 out. I think the snow will miss us at 3500 ft.
Good luck Shadowman!
 

marsh

On TB every waking moment

Flood Watch For 38 Million In California, Governor Declares Emergency​

TUESDAY, FEB 06, 2024 - 07:21 AM
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

California battered by ‘potentially historic’ storm. 38 million have flood alerts. What If California had channeled this water to fill reservoirs instead of the ocean?


State Emergency

The Office of the Governor reports Gavin Newsom Proclaimed a State of Emergency for eight counties in Southern California as a series of winter storms began impacting much of the state with high winds, damaging rain and heavy snowfall.

The proclamation covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The emergency proclamation includes provisions authorizing a California National Guard response if tasked, facilitating unemployment benefits for impacted residents, and making it easier for out-of-state contractors and utilities to repair storm damage.

Historic Storm

NBC has Live Updates of a Potentially Historic Storm
  • A severe storm system began moving through California Sunday and into Monday, marking the start of what’s expected to be days’ worth of heavy rain and snow.
  • Some 38 million people are covered by flood alerts due to a weather system the National Weather Service said could be “potentially historic.”
  • Over 500,000 customers are without power in California as of Monday morning, mostly in the northern and central parts of the state, although Los Angeles is also reporting 4,000 powerless homes and businesses.
  • Heavy rain led to mandatory evacuations for parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties on Sunday and firefighters rescued 16 people from a single street in Los Angeles as mudslides caused havoc.
  • At least two people have died in tree fall incidents associated with the severe weather.
  • 9.94 inches of rain was recorded near the University of California, Los Angeles; 6.33 inches north of Culver City; and 3.35 inches in Santa Barbara.
  • A top wind gust of 138 mph was clocked in Ward Peak near Lake Tahoe, 120 mph in Upper Bull at Patterson Mountain, and 94 mph in Grapevine, California.

Wettest Day Ever in Los Angeles

1707258539428.png

What About Insurance?

CNN reports, As floods recede, many Californians could be returning to damaged homes that aren’t covered by insurance

Many victims of the massive storms now battering Southern California about are to be hit with another heartbreak — discovering their insurance won’t cover the damage.

The typical homeowners’ policy won’t cover loss from flood damage. That is covered by the National Flood Insurance Program, a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But in California, where drought, not flooding, had been the more common problem until recently, homeowners are about as prepared for flood damage as hurricane-prone Florida residents are for earthquakes.

A look at the numbers: Data from NFIP shows only 52,400 homes and businesses are covered by flood insurance in the eight Southern California counties declared a disaster area because of this storm.

That’s less than 1% of 7.7 million households in the affected area with coverage. Those counties have a combined population of more than 22.6 million people, according to the latest estimates from the Census Bureau.

Los Angeles County, with more than 10 million residents, has only 14,600 flood insurance policies in force.

Atmospheric River Parked Over Southern California



A powerful atmospheric river-fueled storm is moving at an agonizingly slow pace across Southern California, directing a firehose of moisture at deluged cities for hours at a time.

Storms normally track across the US from west to east at a steady pace, but a feature in the atmosphere well above the surface is standing in this storm’s way, causing it to get stuck over Southern California. With nowhere to go, the storm continues to tap into the tropical moisture in the atmospheric river, increasing the heavy rain and flood threat.

The storm’s slow pace is very bad news for the region, as the longer rain lingers, the worse the flooding will likely become.

This setup is a textbook case for widespread flooding,” the Weather Prediction Center said Monday morning.

An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain is possible across the Los Angeles basin Monday, with an additional 3 to 6 inches of rain in the area’s mountains and foothills. Multiple feet of heavy snow will bury the region’s highest elevations.

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said an “extremely dangerous situation” is happening in the “Hollywood Hills area and around the Santa Monica Mountains” just outside of Los Angeles, adding that “life threatening landslides and additional flash flooding” were expected.

Question of the Day

Instead of massive regulations, free money handouts to immigrants, an absurd focus on DEI, and moaning about drought, what if California channeled a small amount of tax revenues to capture this rain and sent it to reservoirs instead of the ocean?

But no.

And as a result of rising taxes wasted on nonsense, Californians are in the midst of a Great Escape.

Great Escape


For discussion, please see Great Escape: What Metro Areas Are Attracting the Most New Renters?

Flight is not limited to individuals. Ridiculous regulations have fueled business flight and another round is coming up.

Please note Cost of Running a McDonalds Jumps $250,000 in CA Due to Minimum Wage Hikes


Prices at fast food restaurants in California are set to jump in April as huge minimum wage hikes kick in.

California is a disaster zone in multiple ways, and most of them are self inflicted.
 

West

Senior

Flood Watch For 38 Million In California, Governor Declares Emergency​

TUESDAY, FEB 06, 2024 - 07:21 AM
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

California battered by ‘potentially historic’ storm. 38 million have flood alerts. What If California had channeled this water to fill reservoirs instead of the ocean?


State Emergency

The Office of the Governor reports Gavin Newsom Proclaimed a State of Emergency for eight counties in Southern California as a series of winter storms began impacting much of the state with high winds, damaging rain and heavy snowfall.

The proclamation covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The emergency proclamation includes provisions authorizing a California National Guard response if tasked, facilitating unemployment benefits for impacted residents, and making it easier for out-of-state contractors and utilities to repair storm damage.

Historic Storm

NBC has Live Updates of a Potentially Historic Storm
  • A severe storm system began moving through California Sunday and into Monday, marking the start of what’s expected to be days’ worth of heavy rain and snow.
  • Some 38 million people are covered by flood alerts due to a weather system the National Weather Service said could be “potentially historic.”
  • Over 500,000 customers are without power in California as of Monday morning, mostly in the northern and central parts of the state, although Los Angeles is also reporting 4,000 powerless homes and businesses.
  • Heavy rain led to mandatory evacuations for parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties on Sunday and firefighters rescued 16 people from a single street in Los Angeles as mudslides caused havoc.
  • At least two people have died in tree fall incidents associated with the severe weather.
  • 9.94 inches of rain was recorded near the University of California, Los Angeles; 6.33 inches north of Culver City; and 3.35 inches in Santa Barbara.
  • A top wind gust of 138 mph was clocked in Ward Peak near Lake Tahoe, 120 mph in Upper Bull at Patterson Mountain, and 94 mph in Grapevine, California.

Wettest Day Ever in Los Angeles

View attachment 459522

What About Insurance?

CNN reports, As floods recede, many Californians could be returning to damaged homes that aren’t covered by insurance

Many victims of the massive storms now battering Southern California about are to be hit with another heartbreak — discovering their insurance won’t cover the damage.

The typical homeowners’ policy won’t cover loss from flood damage. That is covered by the National Flood Insurance Program, a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But in California, where drought, not flooding, had been the more common problem until recently, homeowners are about as prepared for flood damage as hurricane-prone Florida residents are for earthquakes.

A look at the numbers: Data from NFIP shows only 52,400 homes and businesses are covered by flood insurance in the eight Southern California counties declared a disaster area because of this storm.

That’s less than 1% of 7.7 million households in the affected area with coverage. Those counties have a combined population of more than 22.6 million people, according to the latest estimates from the Census Bureau.

Los Angeles County, with more than 10 million residents, has only 14,600 flood insurance policies in force.

Atmospheric River Parked Over Southern California



A powerful atmospheric river-fueled storm is moving at an agonizingly slow pace across Southern California, directing a firehose of moisture at deluged cities for hours at a time.

Storms normally track across the US from west to east at a steady pace, but a feature in the atmosphere well above the surface is standing in this storm’s way, causing it to get stuck over Southern California. With nowhere to go, the storm continues to tap into the tropical moisture in the atmospheric river, increasing the heavy rain and flood threat.

The storm’s slow pace is very bad news for the region, as the longer rain lingers, the worse the flooding will likely become.

This setup is a textbook case for widespread flooding,” the Weather Prediction Center said Monday morning.

An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain is possible across the Los Angeles basin Monday, with an additional 3 to 6 inches of rain in the area’s mountains and foothills. Multiple feet of heavy snow will bury the region’s highest elevations.

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said an “extremely dangerous situation” is happening in the “Hollywood Hills area and around the Santa Monica Mountains” just outside of Los Angeles, adding that “life threatening landslides and additional flash flooding” were expected.

Question of the Day

Instead of massive regulations, free money handouts to immigrants, an absurd focus on DEI, and moaning about drought, what if California channeled a small amount of tax revenues to capture this rain and sent it to reservoirs instead of the ocean?

But no.

And as a result of rising taxes wasted on nonsense, Californians are in the midst of a Great Escape.

Great Escape


For discussion, please see Great Escape: What Metro Areas Are Attracting the Most New Renters?

Flight is not limited to individuals. Ridiculous regulations have fueled business flight and another round is coming up.

Please note Cost of Running a McDonalds Jumps $250,000 in CA Due to Minimum Wage Hikes


Prices at fast food restaurants in California are set to jump in April as huge minimum wage hikes kick in.

California is a disaster zone in multiple ways, and most of them are self inflicted.
From the above it says that LA hasn't had more than 2.55 inches of rain in a day since 1927.

This piece is about 1939 and a storm that dumped over 5 inches in a day on LA and over 11inches in the nearby mountains...


Think the 1939 storm is the one my family may have lived through
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
No offense or I’ll harm to anyone in this storms path…… I wish you all well. Have ever noticed in the last 5 plus years any storm that sheds water is ‘historic’ or unprecedented……..

The old "if it bleeds it leads" form of "journalism" plus the "cult of climate change"....
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
FWIW: Just came back in from shoveling and snow blowing six inches of snow and it's still coming down. Not as heavy as earlier, but still snowing. If I don't get out and clear the road in front of our place the plows will just stack it up and then it's a PITA to clear, especially when it's frozen solid. Then I'll have to break out the chain saw.....ugh!

P.S. Snowshoes are out of the shop and in standby mode. :rofl:
 

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
From the above it says that LA hasn't had more than 2.55 inches of rain in a day since 1927.

This piece is about 1939 and a storm that dumped over 5 inches in a day on LA and over 11inches in the nearby mountains...


Think the 1939 storm is the one my family may have lived through
I think that is the storm my Mom's friend talked about where the LA River overflowed.
 
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