By JOHN ANTCZAK
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The first of two back-to-back atmospheric rivers drenched California on Thursday, flooding roads and toppling trees while triggering statewide storm preparations and calls for people to get ready for powerful downpours, heavy snow and damaging winds.
Heavy rain and gusty winds that began hitting the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday moved south and arrived in Los Angeles in time to snarl the Thursday morning commute.
The river of rain “will be taking aim at mostly Southern California” on Thursday, weather service forecaster Bob Oravec said.
The Los Angeles and San Diego areas will be in the bullseye for heavy rain on Thursday, “especially for some of the higher elevations where they tend to get most of the rainfall — or the heaviest rainfall — with these atmospheric river events,” he said.
The weather service issued a flood watch into Friday morning for the Bay Area and the Central Coast because of possible flooding of rivers, streams, some roads and areas scarred by previous wildfires.