- Three people have died so far during the torrential downpours and storms
- A car has flipped onto its roof on a freeway into LA while roads turned to rivers
- Meteorologists are warning that rockslides and mudslides are likely
Monster storms which have killed three people while wreaking havoc in California are set to batter the state for a third day, forecasters have warned.
The Pineapple Express, a weather system lingering over much of the Sunshine State, moved in on Sunday just in time for the Grammy’s in Los Angeles.
Since then, the city has been deluged with 10 inches of rain – or 75 percent of its annual rainfall in just five days, triggering 120 mudslides by Monday night.
Meanwhile, 130 miles down the coast in San Diego, roads have turned to rivers and officials warned residents not to drive to work on Tuesday morning.
Dramatic dashcam footage which caught the moment a white SUV flipped onto its roof on the 5 Freeway linking Los Angeles to Brea shows why.
Roads have been deluged with brown water and mud in neighborhoods throughout California
Video shows a white SUV flipping on the northbound freeway near Whittier Boulevard around 4 p.m. Sunday
Over the weekend, the storm inundated streets and brought down trees and prompted water rescues in the San Francisco Bay area
Caught through a rain-battered lens, the video shows a vehicle on the far left lane aquaplaning before spinning out and flipping across the center divider.
Miraculously, no-one was injured even though the car landed upside down, according to the California Highway Patrol.
However, three people have died amid the fierce weather conditions elsewhere in the state.
Two men were crushed by trees which toppled amid gale-force winds on Sunday in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento, and in Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz County.
Police are also investigating the death of another man in Yuba City, about 100 miles north-east of San Francisco, who was found under a redwood tree in his garden.
ABC10 has named the man as 82-year-old David Gomes.
The storm system is continuing to hover over much of southern California and forecasters have warned it’s likely to persist into Wednesday.
Roads have been deluged with mudslides and brown water across parts of the Sunshine State – including the Beverly Crest neighborhood (pictured)
Monster storms which have killed three people while wreaking havoc in California are set to batter the state for a third day, forecasters have warned
The Pineapple Express, a weather system lingering over much of the Sunshine State, moved in on Sunday just in time for the Grammy ‘s in Los Angeles
Authorities warned people to remain on high alert and most of southern California remained under flood watches
A car is engulfed in mud and water after a mud slide due to severe storms that hit Southern California causing flooding and mud slides
A car is stuck in mud after storms hit Southern California, causing floods and mud slides
Properties have been destroyed by fierce winds and relentless rain in Southern California
An aerial view of the remains of a home destroyed by a mudslide caused by an ongoing rain storm in Los Angeles, California
LAFD rescuing a man who jumped into the water to rescue his dog, and also safely locating the dog down river
People gather where a home was destroyed by a mudslide as a powerful long-duration atmospheric river storm, the second in less than a week, continues to impact California
Tourists are pictured in Santa Monica during the storm in Los Angeles, CA, on Monday
An atmospheric river recently produced severe weather and life-threatening flash flooding in California
According to aerial views of the Pineapple Express, it’s moved slightly east since Monday, meaning star-studded neighborhoods in Santa Barbara including Montecito where Harry and Meghan live are now safe from the worst of the rain.
However, forecasters say scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely to break out at intervals throughout Tuesday.
Most will pepper the state with light to moderate rain, but there is still a threat of brief, fierce downpours dumping up to an inch of rain per hour in many places.
Authorities warned people to remain on high alert and most of southern California remained under flood watches.
Swollen and fast-moving creeks and rivers ‘increase the risk for drowning and the need for swift water rescues’, the weather service said.
The current storm is the second weather system fueled by an atmospheric river to hit the state over recent days.
On Monday, it saw Los Angeles deluged with rain, sending mud and boulders down hillsides dotted with multimillion-dollar homes while people living in homeless encampments in many parts of the city scrambled for safety.
Near the Hollywood Hills, floodwaters carried mud, rocks and household objects downhill through Studio City, city officials said.
Sixteen people were evacuated from nine properties on a street in the Studio City neighborhood where George Clooney lives with his wife Amal and their two children.
Roads have turned to rivers in parts of Los Angeles and San Diego, and officials warned residents not to drive to work on Tuesday morning
The storm ploughed through northern California over the weekend, killing three people who were crushed by falling trees, then lingered over the south
The Pineapple Express storm system has been wreaking havoc in the Sunshine State
Tourists are pictured in Santa Monica, California, during the storm on Monday
A section of the 405 freeway was closed due to a landslide caused by the recent storm that hit Los Angeles, CA
A man walks with umbrella on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, as atmospheric river storms hit Los Angeles, California
People walk with umbrellas on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, as atmospheric river storms hit Los Angeles, California
A man walks with umbrella on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, as atmospheric river storms hit Los Angeles, California
‘It looks like a river that’s been here for years,’ said Keki Mingus, whose neighbors’ homes were damaged. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’
Drake Livingston, who lives in the Beverly Crest neighborhood, was watching a movie around midnight when a friend alerted him to flooding.
‘We looked outside and there’s a foot-and-a-half of running water, and it starts seeping through the doors,’ said Mr Livingston, whose car was found submerged in mud on Monday morning.
The danger was not over despite a projected dip in the rainfall, warned Ariel Cohen, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service bureau in Los Angeles.
‘The ground is extremely saturated, supersaturated,’ he said at a Monday afternoon news conference. ‘It’s not able to hold any additional water before sliding.
‘It’s not going to take much rain for additional landslides, mudslides, rockslides and other debris flows to occur.’
In LA, an evacuation order remained in place for some residents of a canyon area that was scarred by a fire in 2022.
The area was at increased risk of mud and debris flows because the area was burned bare of brush and trees that could hold it back, authorities said.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said 1,000 firefighters had dealt with more than 300 mudslides in addition to more than 100 reports of flooding and rescues of motorists stranded in vehicles on inundated roads.
Shelters added beds for the city’s homeless population of nearly 75,000 people.
Authorities warned people to remain on high alert and most of southern California remained under flood watches
A person walks to the edge of the raging Los Angeles River as the second and more powerful of two atmospheric river storms inundate Los Angeles, California
‘It’s not going to take much rain for additional landslides, mudslides, rockslides and other debris flows to occur,’ meteorologist Ariel Cohen warned
Floodwater has deluged many streets in California during three days of brutal storms
Motorists have been warned not to drive in Los Angeles because the conditions are so perilous
Roads are clogged with mud in the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA
Crews rescued people from swift-moving water in various parts of southern California, including 16 people and five cats in Los Angeles County alone, authorities said.
About an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles, two homeless people were rescued on Monday after spending the night on a small island in the Santa Ana River in San Bernardino.
Over the weekend, the storm inundated streets and brought down trees and prompted water rescues in the San Francisco Bay area.
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for most of coastal southern California and on Monday, President Joe Biden promised to provide any needed federal help.
‘We’ll get any help on the way as soon as you guys request it,’ he told Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass in a telephone call.