West Coast braces for more rain after flash flooding causes mudslides in Southern CaliforniaDANIEL MANZO and DAN PECKGood Morning America• West Coast braces for more rain after flash flooding causes mudslides in Southern California originally appeared on abcnews.go.comMore rain is on the way for the West Coast after weekend storms caused flash flooding and mudslides in Southern California, wiping out roadways.The large storm brought heavy rain, high winds and very heavy mountain snow to California on Saturday. A series of storms is set to bring further impacts to the region over the next few days.Multiple systems will bring more rounds of unsettled weather to the western U.S. through Tuesday.
PHOTO: An overturned vehicle is seen at a scene of a fatal accident along Interstate Highway 5 south of Pyramid Lake, Calif., Feb. 2, 2019. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)
PHOTO: Cars drive through a flooded street after a storm dumped heavy rain on Los Angeles, Feb. 2, 2019. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)Winter storm warnings, watches and advisories, as well as flood and wind alerts, are in effect for much of the western U.S. through the next few days.Another system will slide south and east toward California on Sunday and bring multiple rounds of rain to the California coastline. However, rain will become more widespread by Monday as the storm comes ashore and heavy rain will fall once again in Southern California.
PHOTO: There are alerts in place across the western U.S. on Sunday. (ABC News)About 1 to 2 inches more rain will fall along the Southern California coastline through Tuesday, with the majority of that coming in Monday’s storm. Locally, 7 to 10 feet of snow accumulation is expected in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Snow will also move into the southern Cascades and northern Rockies, with 1 to 2 feet of fresh snow expected locally.Even though the additional rain won’t be as heavy as Saturday, the precipitation in Southern California is saturated, and additional flash flooding, mudslides and debris flow will be expected over the next couple of days.
PHOTO: Parts of Southern California will see an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain over the next few days. (ABC News)The rainy weather on Saturday caused flooding in Malibu, where an excavator was rescued after a sinkhole that developed on Yerba Buena Road swallowed the heavy machinery, making the street impassable north of Yellow Hill, according to ABC Los Angeles Station KABC.View image on Twitter
At Mammoth Mountain, nearly 18 inches of fresh snow fell, and a possible tornado was reported in Acton.The rain came at a particularly intense rate, with 0.23 inches of rain in 10 minutes reported in Beverly Hills, 0.31 inches of rain in Malibu in just five minutes, and a half an inch of rain in five minutes in Santa Barbara.PHOTO: In this Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, photo released by Santa Barbara County Fire, a large stone pine tree believed to be 100 years old came down into this Santa Barbara, Calif., home during Saturday’s powerful winter storm. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire via AP Farther north, colder air and snow will be moving into the Northwest as well. There is a possibility of some lowland snow in Seattle from Sunday night into Monday morning. Even though accumulations will be light, it could make for a problematic morning commute. That storm will also move inland on Monday, however, it is expected to be less intense than the previous two storms.
Mild weather expanding in Midwest
A major warm up is underway in the Midwest after the region dealt with a brutal cold blast early this week. Lone Rock, Wisconsin, which was minus 39 on Thursday, reached 41 degrees on Saturday. That is an 80-degree warm up in 57 hours.PHOTO: Temperatures are completely flipped from last week in the Midwest. (ABC News) Mild air will keep expanding throughout the central U.S. Sunday, with temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees in Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois. Temperatures will reach almost 70 from Oklahoma City to Little Rock, Arkansas — nearly 20 degrees above average. Temperatures are in the low 60s to mid-50s from St. Louis to Roanoke, Virginia, about 10 to 15 degrees above average.Some of this mild air will slide east on Monday, with another mild day from Oklahoma City to Detroit. Chicago will start the day in the 40s, but the passing of a cold front will bring the temperature back down into the 30s, which is seasonable for this time of the year.
PHOTO: There warmth will expand eastward on Monday. (ABC News) When the milder air reaches the East Coast it will be accompanied by a mix of clouds and sun for the major Northeast cities. The latest forecast guidance shows temperatures will be approaching the 60s by Tuesday, with sun and clouds from Washington, D.C., to Boston.The combination of sunshine and temperatures nearly 20 degrees above average is relatively atypical in this region of the country in February. Additionally, it will likely be the nicest and most comfortable weather this region has seen in months.
PHOTO: Temperatures will be above average in the Northeast over the first few days of the work week. (ABC News) ABC News’ Julia Jacobo contributed to this report.
„It’s basically not just a one in 20-year event, it’s a one in 100-year event,” she told reporters Saturday.The Bureau of Meteorology said a slow-moving monsoonal trough was sitting above northern Queensland state, with some areas expected to receive more than a year’s worth of rain before conditions ease.”We could see the rain intensify into early next week as the low… moves out to the Coral Sea,” meteorologist Jonathan How told national broadcaster ABC Sunday.Rocks are seen blocking Muller Street in Wulguru, Townsville, as flooding continues in northern QueenslandCredit: ReutersThe region receives an average of some 2,000 millimetres (6.5 feet) of rain annually but some towns were already on track to pass that total.The town of Ingham received 506 millimetres of rain in 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday, of which 145 millimetres fell in just one hour, he added.I’ve never seen anything like this,” Townsville resident Chris Brookehouse told the ABC, adding that more than one metre of water had flooded his house.”The volume of water is just incredible. Downstairs is gone, the fridge and freezer are floating. Another five or six steps and upstairs is gone too.”Blazak said that with adverse weather predicted to continue for up to 72 hours, some regions could see record-breaking levels of rainfall.Conditions are expected to ease from Thursday, although the weather modelling for the event could change over the week, he added.
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