Deadly California Storm Causes Flooding, Mudslides, and Power Outages

By Steve Gorman and Daniel Trotta

LOS ANGELES – A powerful storm system, the second "Pineapple Express" to hit the West Coast in less than a week, unleashed heavy rainfall across Southern California on Monday, leading to widespread street flooding and mudslides throughout the area.

On Monday, extreme weather alerts for floods, high winds, and winter storms were issued across parts of California and southwestern Arizona, impacting approximately 35 million residents as officials urged people to limit travel.

The National Weather Service reported extreme rainfall totals from the storm, which battered Northern California on Sunday with hurricane-force wind gusts. The heavy precipitation intensified as the storm moved southward through Sunday night into Monday.

According to the NWS, over 10 inches of rain had fallen since Sunday in the Los Angeles area, the second-largest city in the U.S., with expectations for additional rain before the storm subsided later this week. On the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, nearly a foot of rain was recorded in just 24 hours.

Ariel Cohen, the chief meteorologist for the NWS in Los Angeles, stated at an evening press conference, "We’re talking about one of the wettest storm systems to impact the greater Los Angeles area since records began. Going back to the 1870s, this is one of the top three."

President Joe Biden contacted California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, offering federal assistance to areas severely affected by the storm.

The Los Angeles Police Department reported a significant increase in traffic collisions with injuries, while city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley noted at least 130 flooding incidents had been addressed by Monday morning.

In one notable rescue, a fire department helicopter team helped a man who jumped into the flooded Pacoima Wash to save his dog. Video footage captured the moment he was hoisted to safety while his dog swam to safety nearby.

SECOND ATMOSPHERIC RIVER IN DAYS

Meteorologists refer to the intense rainfall, accompanied by heavy snowfall in mountainous regions, as an atmospheric river— a stream of dense moisture drawn in from the Pacific. This storm, along with a weaker system that previously impacted California, characterized this weather event as a "Pineapple Express," typically linked to moisture from Hawaii.

Wind gusts reaching 75 miles per hour downed trees and power lines across the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s Central Coast, leaving around 875,000 homes without electricity at the peak of the storm. Tragically, at least two individuals lost their lives due to fallen trees during the storm.

On Monday, the greatest risk of flash flooding was forecasted for Southern California, although forecasters indicated that "catastrophic" effects were unlikely. Meteorologist Daniel Swain from UCLA provided some reassurance, stating there was "widespread, significant flooding, and locally serious and severe flooding," but nothing excessively alarming.

HILLSIDE COMMUNITIES HARDEST HIT

Several affluent neighborhoods in the Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, and Topanga Canyon experienced significant landslides. Los Angeles officials reported 120 mudslides and debris flows throughout the city by Monday evening, with at least 25 structures damaged.

Beverly Hills resident Jeb Johenning, surveying a neighborhood where cars were trapped in mud, noted three fissures that opened on a nearby hillside, causing "an avalanche of mud" to cascade down.

Despite the record rainfall, the overall property damage appeared to be less severe than expected. Swain attributed this to decreasing rainfall rates and a milder wildfire season last summer, allowing hillsides to better withstand heavy rainfall without collapsing.

Flooding continued to present serious dangers, with rescue teams recovering many individuals, primarily motorists stranded in cars due to rising waters. Evacuation orders were issued for neighborhoods at high risk of flash floods and mudslides, with officials stressing, "We’re not out of the woods yet. Dangerous impacts could persist throughout Southern California today and tomorrow."