Deadly storms sweep California, bringing rain and flooding

IT'S SOMETHING THE REST OF THE WORLD WILL RELATE TO. >> CHARLIE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AT HOME WE HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING ANOTHER ROUND OF SEVERE STORMS HITTING CALIFORNIA. MUDSLIDES AND RIVERS OVERFLOWING ACROSS THE STATE ALL BECAUSE OF A SYSTEM KNOWN AS A ATMOSPHERIC RIVER. JONATHAN -- JONATHAN VIGLIOTTI SHOWS US THE SERIOUS CONDITIONS. >> SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN A STORM FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS, POWERFUL AND LIFE-THREATENING. A SEA OF MUD AND DEBRIS FROM RELENTLESS DOWNPOURS WITH FLOODING ROADS, SWELLING CREEKS. THIS IS THE NORMALLY DRY LOS ANGELES RIVER. AND THIS IS THE IMPACTS. >> I AM CARTER EVANS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR LAX THAT GOT SEVEN INCHES OF RAIN. THIS IS A HILLSIDE HOME, THE WOMAN WHO LIVES HERE HEARD TREE BRANCHES CRACKING AND THEN A WALL OF MUD SMASHING RIGHT INTO HER BEDROOM AND IT IS SLEEPING IN SLOWLY. THE WORST PART IS, THE INSURANCE WILL NOT COVER IT. >> WE WERE ON THIS ROAD IN THE HEAVILY POPULATED SAN FERNANDO VALLEY WHERE A WALL OF MUD AND BOULDERS CAME CRASHING DOWN. 16 PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED, DEVASTATING CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT THE REGION. THE STORM WHICH THE WEATHER SERVICE WARNED OF BEING POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC HITTING THE ENTIRE CALIFORNIA COAST. TO THE NORTH WIND GUSTS TOPPING 100 MILES PER HOUR. THE SACRAMENTO RIVER A RAGING CURRENT. IN SAN JOSE ONE OF NUMEROUS RESCUES FROM RISING FLOODWATERS. THIS TREE FALLING ONTO A CAR, ANOTHER HALLMARK OF THIS STORM WITH UPROOTED TREES CAUSING THREE DEATHS AND MAJOR DAMAGE. THE RESULT OF THE GROUND NOW SATURATED FROM A SERIES OF ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS. WATCH WHAT HAPPENS TO THIS TREE. BACK IN LOS ANGELES, RESIDENTS ARE STILL COMING TO GRIPS WITH A STORM FOR THE AGES. >> JONATHAN JOINS US NOW. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE OF THESE ATMOSPHERIC RIVER? HOW POWERFUL ARE THE STORMS? >> IT IS PRETTY INTENSE. SOIL IS OVERSATURATED WITH A LOT OF RAIN HAVING NOWHERE TO GO. YOU CAN SEE THE CONDITIONS ARE PRIMED FOR LANDSLIDES AND MUDSLIDES. THIS IS WHAT IS LEFT OF A HOME AFTER BEING DESTROYED BY A LANDSLIDE. THE PHYSICAL PROPERTY OF THIS HOME WAS BACK AGAINST THE CANYON WALL AND IT WAS PUSHED OFF OF ITS FOUNDATION. IT CRASHED INTO A NEIGHBORING HOME, NOBODY WAS INSIDE AT THE TIME, BUT IT IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE FOR HOW STRONG THE SYSTEM WAS AND AS THE RAIN HAS STOPPED, IT IS PICKING UP AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING AND INTO TOMORROW MORNING. >> PEOPLE MAY REMEMBER HEARING ABOUT THE ATMOSPHERIC RIVER'S LAST YEAR. SHOULD WE EXPECT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THEM IN THE FUTURE? >> I THINK SO, ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS HAVE BEEN A FEATURE OF THE WEST, THAT'S WHERE WE GET THE MAJORITY OF PRECIPITATION. 30 TO 50% IN CALIFORNIA. A RIVER OF MOISTURE IN THE SKY AND DATA SUGGEST CLIMATE CHANGE IS AMPLIFYING THE EFFECT. YOU HAVE THE WARMING OCEANS PUTTING MORE VAPOR IN THE ATMOSPHERE TO MAKE THE STORMS BIGGER AND THEN YOU HAVE THE WARMING WINTER CONDITIONS RIGHT HERE. WHEN PRECIPITATION FALLS, INSTEAD OF BEING WINTER SNOW WHICH WILL MELT SLOWLY OVER TIME AND CAN BE ABSORBED, IT FALLS AS RAIN AND WE HAD 11 INCHES

Channel: CBS News

Views: 233,366

Keywords: California, Atmospheric River, Flooding, Storm Damage, Severe Weather, Landslide, West Coast, U.S., CBS News

Id: tIHt5pSw9QQ

Length: 3min 49sec (229 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 06 2024