Scores killed as tornado strikes southern US state; West Coast girds for more storms

At least six people were killed on Thursday when a tornado and powerful storms ravaged the southern US state of Alabama, rescue officials confirmed.

The storms continued east to rake the neighboring state of Georgia, where the National Weather Service maintained tornado warnings in the early evening.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey tweeted that she was "sad to have learned that six Alabamians were lost to the storms."

The victims were killed in Autauga County, deputy director of emergency services Gary Weaver told AFP.

A tornado touched down in Dallas County as well, ripping roofs off buildings and causing "significant damage," according to Selma Mayor James Perkins, who called on residents to stay off roads and keep away from downed power lines.

"City crews will be dispatched as soon as possible to clean up," the city added on Facebook.

Other counties where states of emergency were declared included Chambers, Coosa, Elmore and Tallapoosa.

Tornadoes, a weather phenomenon that is as impressive as it is difficult to predict, are relatively common in the United States, especially in the central and southern parts of the country.

In late November, 36 tornados were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, leaving two people dead.

US west coast girds for more damaging storms
Los Angeles (AFP) Jan 12, 2023 - Western US states were readying Thursday for yet more torrid weather as so-called atmospheric rivers lined up to dump heavy rain across the already soaked region.

California has been battered by weeks of downpours that have killed 19 people, flooding communities, toppling powerlines and threatening deadly mudslides.

Forecasters now say a cyclone churning in the Pacific Ocean will spread the rain further north, forming a band from northern California to Washington state.

"The relentless parade of cyclones that have been targeting California in the past week is forecast to shift focus," the National Weather Service said Thursday.

A strengthening ridge of high pressure will "keep the heaviest precipitation locked in place across northern California to coastal Pacific Northwest," which includes Oregon and Washington state.

"By Friday night, this somewhat stagnant pattern will show signs of breaking down, allowing the next Pacific cyclone to direct yet another surge of atmospheric river toward California by Saturday morning."

Forecasters said they expect up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain to fall over 48 hours near Seattle.

Avalanche warnings were in effect for a tranche of Washington state, with the storm bringing wetter, heavier snow into the mountains.

"Dangerous, large avalanches are expected to run naturally during this snowy, wet weather event that will be impacting us Thursday," the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC) said.

So-called "wet slab avalanches" were a particular concern as the wetter snow piles up on top of fluffier, lighter snow, making the snowpack unstable.

"Wet slab avalanches are not something to tiptoe around, and this is a day where it's a good idea to stay off steep slopes and runouts beneath avalanche paths," the NWAC said.

- Sewage -

In northern California, up to six feet (1.8 meters) of snow was forecast over the mountains between Friday and Tuesday, with winds gusting up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) an hour.

"Mountain travel is highly discouraged this weekend! If you must travel, plan to be at your destination before 4pm Friday," the NWS said.

At lower elevations, a flood watch was in place in a vast area from around San Francisco and into Oregon.

The warnings come as the region picked up the pieces after repeated downpours.

San Francisco saw more rain over a two-week period than at any other time in 150 years, straining the city's drains where raw sewage was mixed with storm run off.

"Don't jump in puddles. Especially in San Francisco...there (could be) sewage in that," said Eileen White of the regional Water Quality Control Board, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The storms have left at least 19 people dead in California.

They include drivers who have been found in submerged cars, people struck by falling trees, a husband and wife killed in a rockfall, and people whose bodies were discovered in floodwaters.

In San Luis Obispo, members of the National Guard joined the search for 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was swept away in floodwaters as his mother tried to pull him to safety from their car.

The sheriff of San Luis Obispo County said Wednesday that underwater teams were combing water courses.

"We will search until we find him," spokesman Tony Cipolla told The San Luis Obispo Tribune.

- Climate change -

California is no stranger to wild weather, with winter storms commonplace.

But scientists say climate change, supercharged by humanity's burning of fossil fuels, is making such storms more ferocious.

While it is causing short term misery, the rain is badly needed in the western United States, where more than two decades of drought have forced unprecedented restrictions on water usage.

However, climatologists warn that even the kind of monster downpours that have pummelled the region this month are not going to reverse 20-plus years of below-average rainfall.

Shasta Lake, the state's largest reservoir, was still only at two-thirds of its historical average for early January, water resources department data showed.

Related Links
Weather News at TerraDaily.com

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Tens of thousands evacuate California storms, with 17 dead
Montecito, United States (AFP) Jan 11, 2023
Tens of thousands of people were under evacuation orders in California on Tuesday as the state was ravaged by the latest in a barrage of storms that have left at least 17 people dead. Torrential downpours caused flash flooding, closed key highways, toppled trees and swept away drivers and passengers - including a five-year-old-boy who remains missing in central California - with even more rain and snow set to batter America's most populous state. Around 110,000 California homes and businesses ... read more