As the atmospheric river continues to have an impact in Northern California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and California Department of Social Services (CDSS) have taken proactive steps to keep people safe.
This builds on the action Governor Newsom announced previously to pre-deploy resources and thousands of personnel throughout Northern California.
“We’re pre-deploying significant resources and thousands of personnel to protect the safety of our California communities during this significant weather event,” said Governor Newsom.
According to the National Weather Service, the prolonged atmospheric river event may bring moderate to heavy rain to Northern and Central California through the Pacific Northwest with mountain snow in the Cascades and Northern Rockies.
The atmospheric river could bring an increased risk of power outages, flooding in small streams and low-lying areas, and debris, rocks, and mudslides on roadways. Cal OES encourages residents to reduce injury risks by not driving through flooded roadways, and preparing in advance for power outages.
Cal OES deployed swift water and flood response equipment and personnel to the following 10 counties: El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Tuolumne. This also includes six specialized Swift Water Rescue teams, 31 local government fire engines, and 13 local government staff.
On Jan. 30, Governor Newsom announced that Cal OES was monitoring weather impacts and working closely with local areas that were forecasted to be affected. In particular, the state was closely monitoring recent burn scar areas that pose the threat of mudslides and debris flows.
The State-Federal Flood Operations Center is monitoring forecasts and coordinating with partners.
In collaboration with the California-Nevada River Forecast Center (CNRFC), Department of Water Resources engineers and CNRFC hydrologists are conducting river forecasts up to four times a day.
California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) has pre-positioned flood fight materials in Northern and Central California, including over 3.7 million burlap sandbags and 162 flood fight material containers across 25 counties.
The flood control system is working as intended with flood space available throughout the system. Water can move throughout California’s flood control system including natural weirs overtopping, water in the region’s bypasses, and potential use of spillways at reservoirs.
Caltrans has 2,500 personnel and 1,253 pieces of storm equipment including snowplows, backhoes, and storm drain clearing equipment; 133 CalFire engines are staffed and ready to respond; 53 hand crews are staffed across the northern region.
The CDPH Medical Health Coordination Center (MHCC) was activated at an enhanced watch level throughout this past weekend to ensure all public health needs are met across the state. Working with regional and local public health and medical partners ahead of the storms, this proactive step ensures clear and open lines of communication are established to share potential needs throughout the storm event.
CDPH is also communicating with Regional Disaster Medical Health Specialists on information about the storms to share with counties and healthcare facilities to ensure they are aware and monitoring the situation.
To protect vulnerable communities from potential storm impacts, CDSS is actively monitoring for potential impacts to vulnerable communities, reaching out to local partners and licensed settings caring for some of the most vulnerable — including individuals with disabilities, older individuals, and unsheltered individuals — to help ensure that people have access to services, should they need them. CDSS is in contact with local officials to ensure shelters and warming centers are ready to serve communities.
Governor Newsom has also signed an executive order to ready the state and maximize the use of anticipated stormwater flows to help continue to boost California’s water supply. The order makes it easier for local and regional agencies to use existing state laws to maximize groundwater recharge during this storm event. This builds on the 2023 executive orders to support groundwater-recharge efforts in the context of that year’s unusually strong winter storms, as well as subsequent legislation codifying those efforts in state law.
Recent above-average water years in 2023 and 2024 helped replenish the state’s reservoirs, but multi-year drought conditions continue to have significant impacts on communities with vulnerable water supplies, agriculture, and the environment. The latest science indicates that hotter and drier weather conditions could reduce California’s water supply by up to 10 percent by the year 2040. The frequency of extreme weather, including wildfires, in California demonstrates the need to continually adapt to promote resiliency in a changing climate. The Department of Water Resources recently conducted the second snow survey of the season, which showed a snowpack well below average.
