New storms raise risk of flash flooding in California wine country before moving south: Live

A plume of moisture from the Pacific is set to surge over the west coast on Saturday bringing more rain and the threat of flash flooding.

The downpours will start across southern Oregon and northern California on Friday night before spreading south into central and southern California on Saturday, the National Weather Service said in its latest briefing.

Two aviation experts who reviewed newly released photos and video of Friday’s helicopter crash that killed a prominent Nigerian banker and five others said the flight likely should have been canceled because of poor nighttime weather conditions in Southern California‘s Mojave Desert.

The National Transportation Safety Board released photos and video of the mangled wreckage this week as its investigators continue to look into what caused the crash. The agency’s preliminary investigation report will be released in the coming weeks.

Weather reports from the time show a mix of rain and snow, and the aircraft flew over a remote area of the desert that likely would have had few lights for the pilot to navigate by, other than cars’ headlights and taillights along the interstate.

As Californians brace themselves for another, here’s a look at the phenomenon:

Heavy rain is forecast across parts of northern and central California on Saturday along with snow in mountainous areas, according to forecasters.

There will be a “slight risk” of excessive rainfall over parts of northern California from Saturday into Sunday morning, the National Weather Service update said on Friday.

The heavy rain will create localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and burn scars the most vulnerable.

On Sunday, the plume of moisture will shift south, bringing heavy rain to southern California too, and similar risks of flooding.

A building westerly swell on Saturday will result in large breaking waves and dangerous beach conditions through Sunday, forecasters said.

Breaking waves of 18 to 22 feet (locally up to 28 ft) are possible. The warning stretched from around the Sea Ranch area to the north of San Francisco to Gorda, south of Big Sur.

California’s Department of Transportation issued an alert on Friday that State Route 33 in Los Padres Forest, north of Los Angeles, would be fully closed as back-to-back storms blew into the state.

SR-33 was subject to full closures between Saturday and Wednesday, Caltrans said.

“SR-33 has 1-way alternating traffic control at 5 locations between Maitlija Hot Springs Rd. & Lockwood Valley Rd. to repair storm damage from last winter,” the agency posted on X, formerly Twitter, with video of a bulldozer clearing rocks from a landslide off the two-lane route.

A flood watch has been issued for parts of northern California, including the city of San Francisco, and portions of the Central Coast, the National Weather Service said on Friday.

The watch is in place from Sunday morning until Wednesday morning due to the expected moderate to heavy rain which may cause flooding.

During torrential downpours earlier this month, firefighters responded to a heavy debris flow in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles, evacuating seven homes.

Residents told Mike Bedigan they had “not even remotely had anything like this before”.

Read the full report here: