Deadly floods hit California
Severe winter storms cause deadly flooding in California
02:53
Sacramento – Northern California crews were still scrambling early Monday to clean up the disastrous effects of record rainfall before another weather system arrives from the Pacific this week. A New Year’s storm brought deadly flooding, high winds and landslides, along with heavy snowfall in some areas, closing highways and stranding drivers.
The immediate concern Monday morning around Sacramento was ruptured levees, several of which threatened to flood more roads.
Many Sacramento County residents were already under evacuation orders after historic rains breached the levees, with authorities warning the situation remained “incredibly dangerous.”
Massive storms hit California with heavy rain, wind and power outages
02:26
The fear is that the swollen rivers could continue to rise this week after overflowing onto nearby roads. First responders rescued at least a dozen people stranded in vehicles over the weekend, and at least one person died near the town of Wilton after trying to cross high water.
Northern California neighborhoods were submerged and landslides blocked roads. Powerful gusts of wind of up to 60 miles per hour knocked trees over power lines, leaving tens of thousands of people in the dark.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty
Further south in the San Francisco Bay Area, the iconic Fisherman’s Wharf had its wettest day in nearly 30 years, and the Oakland Zoo was expected to be closed for at least two weeks after a huge chasm collapsed at its entrance.
The atmospheric river brought more than eight feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, closing roads and even shutting down many ski resorts.
As the system heads east through the Rockies, avalanche warnings were already in effect after a skier died near Breckenridge, Colorado, and another avalanche was filmed from downtown of Telluride over the weekend.
First day weather alert Monday for freezing rain and snow
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However, there was a silver lining brought by all of California’s extreme weather: The storm system may have provided a desperately needed replenishment of drought-stricken reservoirs and mountain snowpacks.
But meteorologists said it was too early to determine whether this week’s storms will have a lasting positive impact.
Jonathan Vigliotti
Jonathan Vigliotti is a CBS News correspondent based in Los Angeles. He previously served as a foreign correspondent for the network’s London bureau.
