CALIFORNIA PREPARES FOR HEAVY RAINS

Written by: Brian Neudorff

This morning the West Coast is preparing for a strong storm system that is expected to dump several inches of rain. I know you have heard all the news reports of wild fires and drought across California but the last thing you want in those situations is a lot of rain in a short amount of time.

The locations in the northern two-thirds of California could see 2 to 4 inches of rain today with higher amounts along the windward side of the mountains. This sets up the scenario for flash flooding and where they recently had wild fires of the last year or two, mudslides. Mudslides are a concern because all the vegitation that used to hold back the dirt and soil through there root system have been destroyed by the fires. With the roots gone the soild is loose and can easily be carried by the heavy rain.

In the suburbs northeast of Los Angeles, sandbags and concrete barriers are being put in place to help redirect debris flows coming off the hills to protect residential areas.