California Map Shows When Rain Will Hit Next Amid Severe Flooding

A moisture-laden atmospheric river battered California on Sunday and Monday, and unfortunately, more rain is on the way for the southern parts of the state.

The atmospheric river arrived on Sunday and wreaked havoc across the state with severe rain, snow and high winds. The storm followed a similar system that brought a deluge of rain to California last week, leading to saturated ground prone to flooding with the second system. Catastrophic flooding did occur, particularly in Los Angeles County, and the National Weather Service (NWS) office in San Diego predicts that more rain is on the way, according to a forecast map the office shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday morning.

"Here is one model's depiction of how precipitation will evolve through this afternoon. There's still a 10-20% chance of thunderstorms today, and lightning is already being observed off the coast south of Pt Conception," the office posted with the forecast progression.

Atmospheric rivers are defined as a "long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The map shows that over the course of 12 hours, which began at 4 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, intermittent bouts of rain are expected across southern California. The rain begins to weaken in the afternoon.

Newsweek reached out to NWS San Diego by phone for comment.

Several areas across California experienced catastrophic impacts from the storm, which one expert described as a one in 1,000 year rainfall event. At least three people were killed by the storm's impacts, according to the Associated Press, and countless rescues were performed across the state as people were caught in the floods. Devastating landslides washed away foundations beneath homes and caused damage to roads.

Winds also were incredibly destructive, contributing to lost power for nearly one million people on Sunday night. One wind gust clocked in at 162 miles per hour at Ward Mountain, California, the same location that set the state wind record at 199 mph in 2017.

Much of Southern California is still under weather advisories and warnings, including a flood warning for the San Diego area. The warning said that minor flooding is forecast for the San Diego River. The warning will be updated at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

"Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles," the warning said. "Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas."

Other advisories in place in California included an avalanche warning, a winter storm warning and a flood watch. The storm will continue working its way east, spurring a slew of weather-related warnings across inland states like Nevada, Arizona and Utah.