California at ‘high’ risk of ‘locally catastrophic’ flooding

The National Weather Service has declared a “high risk” of excessive rainfall in both coastal and mountainous zones as yet another strong atmospheric river bombards the state. A second high-risk zone has been introduced for the central California coastline and the coastal range from near Monterey to just west of Santa Barbara. (WeatherBell)Flood watches expand into Southern California, including the Los Angeles area, and extend across much of central and Northern California. The heaviest slug of moisture will exit central California to the east Tuesday afternoon, but bands of precipitation will linger in Southern California through much of Wednesday. With the atmospheric river coming ashore Tuesday morning, winds were howling in Monterey County, with gusts up to 50 mph.