Rain-soaked California will see several more rounds of stormy weather through the weekend and into next week, the National Weather Service said Friday.
The ongoing atmospheric river pattern brought showers into Northern California early Friday, and additional stronger surges of moisture were expected to again spread rain and snow elsewhere in the state over the coming days.
Flood warnings were in effect for the Salinas River in an agricultural valley about 90 miles south of San Francisco. At least 20,000 acres (8,094 hectares) of farmland were at risk of flooding, the National Weather Service said.
California has been drenched by atmospheric river storms since late December, putting a dent in the state's long drought but also causing flooding, power outages and debris flows. In some parts of Northern California, cars were submerged, trees uprooted and roofs blown off homes. There have been at least 18 storm-related deaths.
With more rain and snow predicted to follow the midweek lull, the state Office of Emergency Services said it was prepositioning resources — such as swift-water rescue teams, and firefighting personnel across eight counties in the central and northern regions.
