Tag: The National Weather Service

BEL AIR—On February 6, the threat of flooding and mudslides continues, as residents navigate through damage and debris causing evacuations throughout our coverage area. As of 7:19 a.m. (PST) Flash Flood Warnings remain in effect for Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills until at least 10:00 a.m. (PST).

KTVU’s Steve Paulson updated some of the rainfall totals as of February 6, at 7:15 a.m. (PST).

The Sepulveda Dam has a rain accumulation of 12.36.”
The Bel Air Hotel, 12.28”
The Cogswell Dam which is located within the Los Angeles National Forest has seen rainfall accumulations of 12.13.”
Woodland Hills, 11.98”
And Malibu Hills at 11.70”

Child playing in the mud

A photograph posted on social media platform X depicts young people using a floating raft in the flood waters. Some children are playing in the rain or mud while others still have suffered great losses including the lives of at least three people and an unsurmountable amount of property damage.

On February 5, the Santa Monica Police Department warned motorists of the shutdown of the big inline in Santa Monica. Mudslides have been reported across Los Angeles County trapping vehicles in the mud.

According to the National Weather Service, California can expect one more day of rain before the storm system begins to move east.

According to the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) posted the following message on X:

“The Atmospheric River that came ashore in CA continues to drench SoCal. Other parts of the West may see inches of rain/feet of snow, especially the southwest. South/Southeast and N. Plains look very wet too.” One other post from five days ago addresses drought conditions.

“Drought coverage in the US has significantly dropped this winter. 19.7 percent of the US is in drought compared to 22.9 percent last week….” No mention of the impact recent rainfalls has had on their previous drought predictions.

Canyon News reached out to one of the government entities watching drought conditions for clarification to see if recent rainfall and flooding would solve the recent alleged water shortage. Environmentalists watching SOCAL drought conditions previously predicted that current drought conditions would result in water restrictions and a water crisis.

Jason Ince from the public affairs office of California Water Resources responded with the following message:

“Southern California has seen significant precipitation over the past several days, bringing the region’s precipitation total for the season close to average. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, which provides significant water supplies for Southern California, also received a significant bump over the past week, from just 52 percent of average on January 31 to 75 percent of average today. While still below average, the snowpack’s improvement is a positive sign for Southern California water supplies.”

By Sharon

HOLLYWOOD HILLS—On Sunday February 3, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning across Southern California. Southern California has been seriously impacted by the flooding and mudslides throughout our coverage area.

According to reports 38 million people remain under flood watches, and warmings including in Hollywood Hills.  As of Tuesday, February 6, at least three lives have been lost.

The following text came directly from the National Weather Service. Governor Gavin Newsom and officials for Los Angeles County also issued proclamations on a city and state level.

“A slow moving and relatively narrow axis of anomalous moisture will continue to focus across Southern California over the next 12 to 24 hours, maintaining a significant threat for life threatening flash flooding across the Transverse Ranges and adjacent locations.  

Areas of moderate heavy rain are expected to remain in place near a cold front crossing the southern coast of California, just ahead of an upper-level trough axis.

Additional rainfall totals through Tuesday of 1-3 inches are expected for the urban corridor from Los Angeles to San Diego and into the foothills of the Transverse Ranges, with locally higher rainfall totals in areas of higher terrain.

This will fall on top of the 5 to 10+ inches of rain which has impacted Southern California over the past 48 hours. Flooding of streams and rivers along with mudslides are expected to remain a threat.

While rain will continue for Southern California on Tuesday, the intensity is expected to be lighter than what occurred over the weekend as the storm system moves east into the Desert Southwest, but the potential for flash-flooding and higher rainfall rates will expand into western Arizona, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah.”

The full text with possible projected threats of severe weather may be viewed on the National Weather Service website.

On February 3, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency for the state of California, according to “Government Code section 8625 I hereby proclaim a State of Emergency to exist in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties,” Newsom stated.

The Governor also advised California residents to heed the warnings of public officials.

“California, this is a serious storm with dangerous life-threatening impacts. Please pay attention to any emergency orders or alerts from local officials.

California is ready with a record number of emergency assets on the ground to respond to the impacts of this storm.”

California has mobilized a record 8,500 state-coordinated, prepositioned emergency response assets that are ready to respond to potential flooding, landslides, travel impacts and 911 calls. The full text of the Governor’s proclamation may be found on his website.

Lindsay Horvath, Chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors also made a statement on the county website notifying the public of what websites to use for outreach.

“Los Angeles County is taking action to protect our communities during the storm and to recover from any impacts that may result. This emergency declaration allows us to move quickly to deploy resources, and it aligns with Governor Newsom’s order issued today. The State, County, and the 88 cities of Los Angeles County are working together to keep everyone informed, prepared, and safe. Thank you for staying inside and off the roads.”
The emergency proclamation allows for expedited procurement of vital supplies and resources, the deployment of disaster service workers, and the use emergency protective measures, like evacuation orders, that protect life, property, and the environment.”

By Sharon