Heavy rain and flash flooding across Northern California produced multiple water rescues and at least one confirmed death in Redding, officials said. Between 3 and 6 inches of rain fell in parts of two counties, and first responders pulled stranded motorists and residents from flooded vehicles and homes. Firefighters in Truckee also rescued people along the South Yuba River; no injuries were reported there. The National Weather Service warned a series of warm atmospheric rivers could bring more moderate to heavy rain through the week of Christmas.
Flash Flooding Soaks Northern California: Redding Water Rescues and One Confirmed Death
Heavy rain and flash flooding drenched roads across Northern California on Sunday night into Monday, prompting water rescues from vehicles and homes and leaving at least one person dead in Redding, authorities said.
Redding police received numerous calls from drivers stranded after attempting to drive through flooded streets. Mayor Mike Littau said a motorist called 911 while trapped in a vehicle that was filling with water; a Redding officer swam out, broke the windows and pulled the victim to shore, but CPR was unsuccessful and the person did not survive. The cause of death remains under investigation.
Acts of heroism accompanied the emergency response, Littau said, praising first responders who performed multiple rescues. In the Donner Summit mountain-pass area, firefighters in Truckee extended a ladder to reach residents stranded at a home along the South Yuba River; no injuries were reported in that incident.
Rainfall and Forecast
The National Weather Service reported that between 3 and 6 inches (7.6 to 15.2 cm) of rain had fallen by Sunday night in parts of two counties. Redding, a city of about 93,000 people at the northern end of California's Central Valley, is roughly 160 miles (257 kilometers) north of Sacramento.
The Sacramento Weather Service office warned that a series of warm atmospheric rivers could bring additional moderate to heavy rain to the Valley, foothills and mountains through the week of Christmas. Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow corridors of concentrated moisture that transport water vapor from the tropics into higher latitudes.
Context
Earlier this month, persistent atmospheric rivers drenched Washington state with nearly 5 trillion gallons (19 trillion liters) of rain in a week, a pattern meteorologists said threatened record flood levels. That event was intensified by unusually warm air and unusual weather patterns traced in part to a tropical cyclone near Indonesia.
Mayor Mike Littau: "We had several acts of heroism by first responders," he posted online.
Officials urged residents to avoid driving through flooded roadways and to follow local guidance as forecasts evolve. Authorities continue to investigate the fatality in Redding and are monitoring additional storm impacts.
