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Monday’s storm did not appear to be as damaging as the one earlier this month, but more rain is expected over the next few days.
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Much of California was pounded by another wave of rain on Monday in the latest storm to test the state after a deadly deluge caused widespread power outages and destructive mudslides two weeks ago.
An atmospheric river, a type of storm in which Pacific winds blow narrow, intense bands of moisture over the West Coast, brought heavy rain to Southern California in the morning and then severe thunderstorms and wind gusts to the Bay Area in the afternoon. A map of the state from the National Weather Service lit up with warnings forecasting flood, hail and possible tornadoes.
“It’s just a huge swath of moisture,” said Rich Thompson, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Los Angeles.
Atmospheric rivers often cause California’s heaviest rain, snow and floods. Monday’s storm did not appear to be as damaging as the one earlier this month. But more rain is expected over the next few days, with flood watches in effect for millions of people, mostly in California, through Wednesday.
On Monday afternoon, as a storm moved into southwestern San Mateo County, south of San Francisco, forecasters warned of a possible “land spout” — a weak tornado likely caused by a water spout reaching land. Around the same time, a line of thunderstorms swept over the northern Central Valley, with forecasters predicting hail and possible flooding.
Southern California bore the brunt of the storm early Monday. As much as 10 inches of rain had fallen in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, with the highest totals in the foothills of the mountains, according to the Weather Service. The airport in Santa Barbara shut down on Monday and was to remain closed “until further notice” because of flooding on the airfield.
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