California and Texas were issued flood warnings on Monday as heavy rains pounded much of the country after a week of deep freezes.
Flash floods inundated homes and overturned cars in San Diego, toppling trees and flooding streets with videos of vehicles buried beneath them.
Far north, early morning flooding hit the city of Guerneville, near San Francisco, where a creek overflowed after more than four inches of rain fell in 24 hours. The local school district canceled classes for the day.
On the southern side of the state, the weather system delivered a major blow with the second major rainstorm of the winter.
Flooding swept away vehicles and caused cars to pile up on top of each other in parts of San Diego.
California and Texas received flood warnings on Monday when a car drifted onto a flooded road in San Diego
Flooding swept away vehicles and caused cars to pile up on top of each other in parts of San Diego.
Several feet of water flooded the Mountain View, Shelltown and Southcrest neighborhoods, as well as several highways, including Interstate 15.
As much as two inches of rain fell in a three-hour period in nearby National City, while San Diego International Airport received two inches of rain, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
During winter, the region averages about 2 inches of rain per month.
The San Diego River was flooding, the National Weather Service said, warning that crossing roads would be unsafe.
The city fire department said it had rescued at least 24 people from the rushing San Diego and Tijuana rivers.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria declared a state of emergency and the city set up shelters to house displaced residents.
Officers moved people to safety after water entered homes in the Spring Valley and Casa de Oro neighborhoods, San Diego County sheriff’s Lt. Zee Sanchez said.
Eddie Ochoa, a San Diego resident, said it was just drizzling when he and his sister went to breakfast Monday morning.
Several feet of water flooded the Mountain View, Shelltown and Southcrest neighborhoods, as well as several highways, including Interstate 15
As much as 3 inches of rain fell in a three-hour period in nearby National City, while San Diego International Airport received 2 inches.
When they returned to their family’s auto body shop, the entire block was flooded and his sister’s parked car had been washed away.
“That all happened within an hour,” Ochoa said, assuming the sewer line had backed up. They later found his sister’s car about three miles down the street.
‘It’s never been this bad. It’s crazy,” he said.
Other residents escaped by wading through waist-high water with their cats and dogs.
“Flooding is quite widespread there,” Sánchez said. The department assisted with a quick water rescue near Santee, he said. No injuries have been reported.
The Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management has issued an evacuation warning near Topanga Canyon through Tuesday morning due to possible mud or debris flows.
To the north, an avalanche warning is in effect through Tuesday morning for the backcountry in the mountains around the Lake Tahoe area, where more than three feet of snow could accumulate, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center in Truckee, California.
The storm is expected to bring up to 8 inches of snow to the lake shores and up to 12 inches of snow with wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour at the highest elevations starting late Monday.
The city fire department said it had rescued at least 24 people from the rushing San Diego and Tijuana rivers
Other residents escaped by wading through waist-high water with their cats and dogs
Juan Gonzales gestures to the water line of a flooded house during a rainstorm
In San Antonio, Texas, firefighters early Monday morning investigated whether five homeless people may have been swept away by rushing water, according to fire department spokesman Woody Woodward.
They camped in drainage tunnels next to a highway north of downtown, officials said.
Firefighters searched multiple locations, including drainage tunnels using a boat, but found no one.
“No individuals were found, so I can’t confirm if five people were actually swept away,” Woodward said, adding that firefighters responded to 25 water rescue missions or investigation calls from late Sunday night to 8 a.m. Monday, with no injuries reported. reported.
Up to two inches of rain has fallen in some parts of the San Antonio area since Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service.
The rainfall also drenched Houston, Dallas and several parts of North and East Texas.
In other parts of the country, such as Arkansas, freezing rain is falling. Forecasters warned that parts of the state could be covered in up to half an inch of ice by Monday evening.
That led to an ice storm warning that includes much of Arkansas’ Ozark Mountains and the cities of Fayetteville and Fort Smith.
Early morning flooding hit the city of Guerneville, north of San Francisco, where a creek overflowed after more than 4 inches of rain fell in 24 hours.
Up to two inches of rain has fallen in some parts of the San Antonio area since Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service
A small portion of northeastern Oklahoma was also warned of an ice storm on Monday, the National Weather Service said.
The ice – combined with wind speeds of up to 20 miles per hour – could lead to power outages, the agency said.
Days of freezing temperatures have caused water problems in several Arkansas cities in Memphis, Tenndue to broken pipes and equipment.
Missouri State Highway Patrol troops responded to more than 400 crashes and at least 600 stranded motorists Monday at 3:30 p.m., said patrol Capt. John Hotz.
Three of the crashes were fatal, including one in which a vehicle struck a Missouri Department of Transportation truck in rural northern Missouri.
A spokeswoman for the transportation department said the truck driver was not injured.
Portions of Highways 70 and 44 were closed at the height of the icing, with officials describing the roads as looking like sheets of ice.
“Just a lot of slide-offs,” said Dallas Thompson, a soldier from the St. Louis area.
Damage becomes visible after a heavy rainstorm causes a small river to flood into a San Diego neighborhood
Across the country, wintry weather and heavy rainfall were expected to continue this week.
Freezing rain and some snowfall were forecast for parts of the Midwest, the lower Great Lakes region and the Northeast, the National Weather Service said.
Parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and the Gulf Coast were forecast to experience heavy rain and thunderstorms Tuesday through Thursday, with some areas receiving as much as 4 to 8 inches of rain through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.