In some regions, people have been asked to evacuate their homes and move to higher ground for safety reasons, fearing flooding. In total, the evacuation order concerns about 9000 inhabitants. Flash flood warnings have been issued in much of Central California. For a number of higher areas, up to 30 centimeters of rain is expected in the coming days.
“We will see more rain and heavy snow in northern and central California all weekend,” said David Lawrence of the National Weather Service. The storm will last into the middle of next week and more flooding is expected.
California has been repeatedly hit by unusually heavy rainfall since January. An unusual amount of snow has also fallen in the higher parts of the US state in recent weeks. In the Sierra Nevada, which supplies about a third of the state’s water supply, snow levels are well over 180 percent of the April 1 average, when it is historically at its peak. When that snow melts, more floods are imminent.