California, known for its sunny skies, sandy beaches, skiing and favorable climate, was hit hard by bad weather this week. The unusual series of storms caused by the El Nino pattern, brought with it mudslides, dangerous surf, wrecked sailboats, power outages and snowfall. On the positive side, the California snowpack in almost up to normal.
Sacramento - Extreme weather passes, but rain remains - Today is a day for utility crews to restore power, motorists to trudge over the mountains while snowfall is light and homeowners to upright the lawn chairs around the pool.
San Luis Obispo - Just trying to stay dry: Storms rack SLO County - Gale force winds, rain, thunder, lightning and a smattering of hail kept most Central Coast residents inside Wednesday as emergency workers dealt with the storm’s impact.
Fresno -
Latest storm soaks Valley, brings Sierra snow - Another storm is rolling through the region today, bringing more rain to the saturated Valley and dumping snow on the Sierra. A key thoroughfare for Fresno State is closed on the first day of a new semester.
Merced -
Nasty weather wreaks havoc - The old barn on Trena Johnson's El Nido farm withstood all sorts of natural disasters over the years, but Wednesday’s winds reduced it to rubble. "I looked out the back window and noticed the barn was teetering, and the next thing I knew, it just fell down," Johnson said.
Modesto -
Modesto, Turlock, valley get pounded by wind, rain, hail - A series of storms continued to pummel the area with rain, snow and even some hail Wednesday, keeping street crews, roofing companies and law enforcement hustling from job to job. Modesto got wetter than any Jan. 20 on MID's records, 1.1 inches, breaking a mark of 0.81 inches, set in 1964.