An El Niño-strengthened storm brought widespread rain to drought-stricken California on Tuesday (January 05), triggering flooding that clogged roadways, and authorities warned residents about possible mud slides.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued flash flood watches for much of the coast from San Diego to San Francisco and said storms would linger through Friday (January 08). The service forecast widespread rain and mountain snow. The weather service warned of flooding on urban roads, as well as flash floods and mud flows that could hit areas recently ravaged by wildfires, like Glendora, California, which suffered from multiple fires last summer. Police in Glendora closed a road due to flooding and debris flowing onto the street.
California is in its fourth year of a drought that has cost the state’s agricultural economy $1.84 billion, according to the University of California, Davis.
The El Niño phenomenon, characterized by a warming of the Pacific Ocean that often brings precipitation to California, is expected to help ease the drought over the next few months, but experts caution the state’s woes are far from over. (Reuters)
