Allergies

The ninth in a three-week series of major winter storms is churning through California. Mountain driving remains dangerous and flooding risk is high near swollen rivers, even as the sun has come out in some areas. Heavy snow continues to fall across the Sierra. The National Weather Service is discouraging travel. A barrage of atmospheric river storms has dumped rain and snow on California since late December, cutting power to thousands, swamping roads, unleashing debris flows, and triggering landslides. President Joe Biden will travel to California’s central coast on Thursday to visit areas that have been impacted by the extreme weather.

Sinkholes swallowed cars and floodwaters swamped towns and swept away a small boy as California deals with more wild winter weather. Millions of people were under flood warnings, and more than 110,000 homes and businesses were without power because of heavy rains, hail and landslides. Thousands have been ordered to evacuate their homes. State officials say at least 17 people have died from storms that began late last month. Meanwhile, the next system in a powerful string of storms loomed on the horizon Tuesday.

Damaging winds and heavy rains in California have knocked out power to tens of thousands, caused flash flooding and contributed to the deaths of at least two people. Authorities warned residents Thursday to hunker down at home in anticipation of flooded roads, toppled trees and other risks. The storm is the latest in a series of what are known as atmospheric rivers to hit California. Those are long plumes of moisture stretching far over the Pacific. This one was a so-called Pineapple Express originating near Hawaii and pulled toward the West Coast by a rotating area of rapidly falling air pressure known as a bomb cyclone.