As of Monday, the Weather Prediction Center says over 14 million people in Southern California are under a high risk of excessive rainfall as storms continue to batter the state.
While the atmospheric river slammed into California on Sunday, bringing high winds and heavy rain, the precipitation isn’t expected to end until the middle of this week.
Flooding, mudslides, and several other ecological dangers have rocked parts of the state since rain first started falling on Saturday. As a result, officials have issued road closures and evacuation orders, and put other measures in place to try and protect residents.
The weather agency shared that the area is facing potentially “life-threatening landslides and additional flash flooding.”
“Numerous damaging landslides, flooded roadways, submerged vehicles, and flooded creeks and streams are ongoing,” the weather service said, adding that the risk remains until 9 a.m. PST.
As for the continued rainfall, on Monday, the WPC issued a level 4 warning, which is the highest warning, for affected areas, including Downtown Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Long Beach.
The rainfall rates in high-risk areas could see as much as 1 inch per hour, which would lead to a total of 4 to 8 inches in the coastal and valley areas, while the mountain and foothill terrains could see 8 to 14 inches.
Conditions on Sunday night were so bad that the Santa Barbara Airport closed after the airfield experienced flooding, its website said.
“All commercial flights have been canceled, private and general aviation operations are paused, and the Terminal is closed until further notice,” the post read.
In Downtown Los Angeles, more than a month’s worth of rain fell on the city in just 24 hours on Sunday, making it the wettest day in the city in nearly two decades.
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The city reported that it recorded 4.10 inches of rain on Sunday alone, which is significant, as the city averages 3.64 inches of rain in the entire month of February. Even more outstanding, February is usually the wettest month of the year.