SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Avalanche, flood and wind warnings were in place again Wednesday as another powerful storm moved into Northern California a day after heavy rains deluged homes and caused rockslides that shut down highways and bridges.
The National Weather Service said the risk of flooding was high north of San Francisco along the swollen Russian River, which overtopped its banks during a series of storms last month.
Strong winds with local gusts topping 60 mph were predicted in parts of the Bay Area and south into the Santa Cruz Mountains and along the Central Coast.
In Southern California, commuters contended with dense fog and slick roads from ongoing rain showers.
Crews rescued residents from rising floodwaters Tuesday in Marin County, where a mudslide toppled trees and split a hillside house in half.
"This storm packed the biggest punch ... of all the storms we had this year," the county's fire department Battalion Chief Bret McTigue said.
Nearly 5 inches of rain fell in a 12-hour span in the San Joaquin Valley, swamping roads and swelling waterways to critical levels.
The weather service said an earthen dam on Lewis Forks south of Yosemite National Park was in imminent danger of failing, and downstream residents in the rural Cedar Valley area should be ready to evacuate.
Avalanche warnings were issued along the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada. More than a foot of snow was reported at ski resorts. Mount Rose resort southwest of Reno, Nevada, received 20 inches over a 24-hour period, the weather service said.
A 147-mph wind gust was reported over the ridgetop at Alpine Meadows southwest of Tahoe.
Nearly 5 inches of rain was reported near Alpine Meadows southwest of Lake Tahoe, and more than 4 inches at Plumas Eureka State Park. More than 3.5 inches of rain fell at Donner Lake near Truckee and 2 inches at South Lake Tahoe.
California has been swamped during a wet winter that has brought no shortage of rain and snow after years of drought. The rain total in downtown Los Angeles since October — the start of the wet season — hit more than 15½ inches and already exceeds the normal amount for an entire year, the weather service said.
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Two men carry a kayak over standing rainwater on a boardwalk along Mission Beach Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, in San Diego. After morning rains, blue skies returned to much of Southern California Tuesday afternoon, as the region awaits a second storm later in the week. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)