Heavy rains and hurricane-force winds in California

Heavy rains that could cause flooding, landslides and power outages hit California on Sunday. This comes at a time when dozens of celebrities have descended on Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards.

This is about the second storm to hit the state in the last week.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a hurricane wind warning for Big Sur and surrounding areas.

University of California, Los Angeles climate scientist Daniel Swain called the wind gusts sweeping the region “extreme” in a live broadcast Sunday.

The NWS recorded peak wind gusts of 70 miles per hour across the state.

The weather agency also announced that there is a “high risk of excessive rainfall” in southern California through Monday, which could lead to flooding and landslides.

The coastal city and port of Long Beach, near Los Angeles, could get more rain this week than it has all year, Mayor Rex Richardson said. Five to seven inches are expected there Sunday through Tuesday.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city could be hit with the same kind of high winds and rain that Tropical Storm Hilary brought in August.

According to the National Weather Service, rainfall of one inch per hour is expected along the southern and central California coasts, with rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches. Up to 6-12 inches are expected in the foothills and mountains.

On Sunday and Monday, the weather agency classified areas including Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties as at high risk for excessive precipitation, forecasting “near continuous rain” over the next 48 hours.

Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties have issued evacuation orders for some residents due to the risk of flooding from the storm. Mandatory evacuations are in effect in parts of San Jose and Ventura County.

At high altitudes in the Northern California and Sierra Nevada mountains, the rain is transforming into heavy snowfall.

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