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A waterlogged California will face further risks of flash flooding and mudslides in the coming days after sustaining widespread damage across northern and central areas in recent days.
The state, which has been confronting severe weather conditions since late December, will face another "atmospheric river" storm by Monday, forecasters have said.
Atmospheric rivers, described by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as "rivers in the sky," are closely tied to weather patterns known as bomb cyclones.
Bomb cyclones most often form during the winter months when warm air collides with cold air and a rapid drop in pressure brings heavy rain and high winds.
It was estimated that more than 560,000 homes hadn't regained access to power in the early hours of Sunday morning, Reuters reported, citing tracking website PowerOutage.us.
But two "major episodes of heavy rain and mountain snow" will sweep across northern and central California in the next few days, the National Weather Service predicted on Sunday, as the "West Coast remains under the target of a relentless parade of cyclones that form and intensify over the Pacific Ocean."
According to the national forecaster, the initial "episode" is tied to the "energetic and moisture-laden fronts" heading for the western coast "ahead of a large cyclone," but there will be a brief reprieve from the heavy rain across central and northern California on Sunday.
But in its wake, a "more potent surge of moisture" will hit the north of the state on Monday morning, working its way toward central areas by the evening.
Before weakening on Tuesday, this second weather system could see more than five feet of new snow fall across the Sierra Nevada, according to the new prediction.
The state has already been hit with devastating rainfall, leaving the ground saturated and unable to cope with further extreme weather conditions.
At least six people have been killed in the extreme weather since the end of last year.
New snowfall heightens the possibility of avalanches in the state, with forecasted deluges raising the alarm for flash flooding and rising river levels, the NWS warned.
Weather monitoring account Weather Track U.S. posted on Twitter that the central coastal area of Big Sur will likely see more rainfall than other regions located at lower elevations.
It warned the terrain could be susceptible to mudslides, and areas that have experienced wildfires could be at risk of debris flows, defined by the NWS as "fast-moving, deadly landslides" caused by heavy rain on recently burned landscapes.
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more