The US on Wednesday continued to see extreme weather patterns, including tornadoes, snow and torrential rains.
Ferocious winds and soaking rain from the Pacific is sweeping towards California, ushering in another day of floods, mudslides and potential blackouts across the state.
Heavy rain will start falling across Northern California on Wednesday and strong winds will begin raking the region by midday, said Hannah Chandler-Cooley, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento. The Sierra Nevada mountains could receive about a metre of snow through Thursday.
“It is a pretty strong system for most of Northern California,” Ms Chandler-Cooley said.
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Dark clouds over the Golden Gate Bridge as storms approach San Francisco. Reuters -
Residents queue up for sandbags at a City of Oakland site before the storm. Bloomberg -
The next in a series of rain events is bearing down on the most populous US state. Bloomberg -
Stormwater floods Discovery Park, where the Sacramento and American Rivers meet, in Sacramento, California. Reuters -
A tow truck pulls a car from a flooded junction in Mill Valley, California, on Wednesday. Getty -
A partially submerged boathouse on the Sacramento River on Tuesday. Reuters -
Men install a floodgate in front of Pink Onion, a pizza shop in the Mission District in San Francisco. San Francisco Chronicle / AP -
Fernando Bizarro, left, collects sandbags from an emergency centre to prepare for the coming storm. San Francisco Chronicle / AP -
A satellite image of a storm system approaching the US West Coast. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / AP -
Sandbags at the entrance to a business in the Mission District of San Francisco. Bloomberg -
Workers build a flood protection barrier at the entrance of a business in the Mission District of San Francisco. Bloomberg -
California tries to clean up from floods and mudslides that killed at least one person over the weekend. Bloomberg -
Residents pile protective sand bags around the entrance to their garage in the Mission District of San Francisco. Bloomberg -
The California snowpack is at a record high but the state's largest reservoirs are still down. EPA -
A mountain near the site of the first snow survey of the 2023 season, at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. EPA -
San Francisco residents are preparing for large-scale flooding. Reuters -
Upholstery was damaged in a recent flood at a business in the Mission District of San Francisco. Bloomberg -
Engineer Anthony Burdock, left, and forecasting chief Sean de Guzman on the measurement phase of the snow survey at Phillips Station. California Department of Water Resources / AP -
Dark clouds over the San Francisco skyline. Reuters -
A San Francisco Department of Public Works worker loads sandbags into a lorry. Getty / AFP -
Crews at a sinkhole from recent storms in Daly City, California, as residents brace for more extreme weather. AP -
Flooding from a New Year's Eve deluge killed one person, prompted more than 1,000 inmates to be moved from a county jail and washed away a section of a levee system that protects farmland. AP
California is set for more destructive weather in the coming days after enduring a battering last week when a similar system — called an atmospheric river — came ashore, causing widespread flooding and killing at least one person. While destructive in some parts of the state, the deluge helped California pull itself out of a years-long drought.
“These little breaks will be few and far between, there is not going to be much recovery time between these atmospheric rivers,” Andrew Orrison, a forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Centre, said on Wednesday.
“These additional events are going to pile up and exacerbate the situation out there.”
The latest storm will spread southward across the state, adding to heavy rain across Los Angeles. As much as 10cm of rain could fall, with up to double that amount in some isolated mountainous areas, according to the weather service.
Elsewhere, a wintry blast that hit the Northern Plains and the Upper Great Lakes is expected to spread into New England by Wednesday.
It was part of a larger weather front bringing heavy showers, severe thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes to the lower Mississippi Valley, Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians.
US winter weather in December — in pictures
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The sun rises over Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday. AFP -
Abandoned cars after being towed to a parking lot following a storm in Buffalo. Reuters -
National Guard members check on residents on Wednesday in Buffalo. AP -
Dozens were found dead after a winter storm in Buffalo. AP -
Passengers were scarce at the Southwest Airlines check-in counter at Baltimore Washington International Airport after the carrier cancelled another 3,000 flights for the day. EPA -
Southwest has cancelled almost 11,000 flights since a storm hit the US. EPA -
A traveller retrieves luggage at San Francisco International Airport in California on Tuesday. Bloomberg -
Rain begins to fall near the Van Nuys court in southern California, on Tuesday. AP -
Leaves cover the South Fork Trail bike path in Santa Clarita, California, on Tuesday, before an expected storm. AP -
A pick-up truck is driven through a flooded junction in Salinas, California. AP -
Cars are stopped in the northbound lanes of Highway 101 after flooding closed the major road near Chualar, California. AP -
Abandoned vehicles in the streets of Buffalo during the US's 'blizzard of the century'. AFP -
Dangerous driving conditions caused many drivers to abandon vehicles in Buffalo, New York. AFP -
Buffalo bore the brunt of damage from a blizzard that stretched across vast parts of the US at the Christmas weekend. AFP -
Snow blankets the city of Buffalo. AFP -
Snow blankets the city of Buffalo. Reuters -
There were driving bans as heavy snow blanketed parts of Erie County in New York. Reuters -
At least 27 people in Buffalo were confirmed to have died as a result of the storm. Reuters -
A New York state trooper pulls over a vehicle in Buffalo. AFP -
Vehicles make their way along a snow-covered street in Buffalo. AFP -
A utility worker straps a rope to a truck to try to tow it out of a snowdrift. AFP -
A resident leaves one of a few open corner shops in Buffalo. AFP -
National Grid technicians work to restore power in a part of Buffalo. AFP -
Workers attempt to repair a water line. AFP -
A digger is used to repair a water main. AFP -
A National Guard patrol in snowbound Buffalo. AFP -
Emergency crews in Buffalo were inundated with calls. EPA -
First responders on snowmobiles check on abandoned vehicles. AFP -
Vehicles were abandoned on roads throughout New York state. AFP -
A man attempts to clear his roof of snow. AFP -
A vehicle abandoned on a residential street in Buffalo. AFP -
Neighbours gather around a fire after clearing snow. AP -
The historic storm left thousands in Buffalo without power. AFP -
Utility company vehicles line up in Buffalo. The Buffalo News / AP -
Neighbours push a motorist stuck in the snow. The Buffalo News / AP
Tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect across much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, along with flood watches posted along the southern fringe of that zone.
The National Weather Service tallied eight tornado reports as of Tuesday night, plus dozens of instances of high winds causing damage to trees, power lines and homes.
“It's all part of the same system. The heavy snowfall is occurring on the west to northern side of the storm … and then the rainfall and severe weather is across the south,” meteorologist Allison Santorelli said.
News agencies contributed to this report
