Evacuations lifted along Cosumnes; latest storm fueled tornado in Sacramento County

An evacuation order has been lifted for the area around Wilton, but the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services is still warning residents there as well as in Rancho Murieta, Herald and along Dillard Road to be ready to evacuate if necessary.

County officials said river levels remain “very high” and more rain and wind is expected to blow through the Sacramento region in the coming week.

As weather conditions can change rapidly, the county is urging people who are heading to or out of the area to remain alert to localized flooding risks and road conditions.

Maintenance crews are still working to clear roads and restore power outages that have affected hundreds of thousands of Sacramento County residents.

About 8 p.m. Saturday, the Cosumnes River at Michigan Bar had crested at 11.2 feet, several inches below flood stage, according to the NOAA’s California Nevada River Forecast Center. That’s well below the levels seen when water overtopped private levees around Wilton Road after stormwater overwhelmed the area Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

The waterway’s level is expected to continue to fall through and could top out at 9.1 feet Monday afternoon before returning to normal stage.

Major flooding in south Sacramento County during a New Year’s Eve storm killed at least three people. Two others in the county, a homeless man and woman, died in last weekend’s storm after trees fell on their tents in separate incidents, officials said.

Parts of Sacramento, including midtown, saw hail and lightning Sunday afternoon as cells of thunderstorm swept through the capital region.

“These types of thunderstorms usually have pea-sized hail” National Weather Service Meteorologist Bill Rasch said. “Scattered thunderstorms is what we should expect through the early evening.”

Rasch said Sacramento residents should anticipate brief downpours, small hail and not much wind as storm cells rake over the Valley.

Tornado in Sacramento

A “weak” tornado was detected Saturday afternoon near Rancho Seco Park, causing damage to three residences, according to the National Weather Service.

The tornado touched down for about two minutes around 2 p.m. near Kirkwood and Beskeen roads, with winds peaking at 80 mph, the weather service said. The tornado was rated at the bottom of the Enhanced Fujita Scale, used to measure damage intensity.

The EF-0 tornado had a width of about 50 yards and a path length of around .3 miles, according to the weather service. It damaged the roofs of two garages and lifted and damaged an RV shelter structure as well as dog kennels.

Biden OKs major disaster declaration

The White House has approved federal aid for those affected by the series of severe storms that have pushed through California since the new year.

President Joe Biden’s Major Disaster Declaration targets federal funding for residents in Sacramento, Merced and Santa Cruz counties, areas hit hardest by flooding, mudslides and landslides.

Gov. Gavin Newsom welcomed the help. The governor on Saturday toured Merced County, where he spoke with local government officials and displaced residents of the community of Planada who were flooded out of their homes.

“California is grateful for President Biden’s swift approval of this critical support to communities reeling from these ongoing storms,” Newsom said in a statement Sunday. “We’ll continue to work in lockstep with local, state and federal partners to help keep Californians safe and make sure our communities have the resources and assistance they need to rebuild and recover.”

Last week, Biden approved Newsom’s request for a presidential emergency declaration to support state, local and tribal storm response efforts.

“He’s very focused on making sure that there are no barriers and that we don’t let bureaucracy get in the way,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said during a news conference at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services at Mather Field before touring storm damage.

The disaster declaration provides grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help people and business owners recover.

Bear Creek below flood stage in Merced

Homes around Bear Creek in Merced County, which were expected to be inundated with floodwaters, have been spared as of Sunday morning.

The river’s key gauge was measured to a depth just under 17 feet. Flood stage is 23 feet.

Jim Bagnall, a forecaster with the National Weather Service’s Hanford office, said water levels in Bear Creek are expected to increase to 19 feet by Monday afternoon, 4 feet below flood stage.

The area remains under a flood warning as forecasters predict the area to receive another inch of rain through Tuesday.

Only one river gauge is at flood stage Sunday along the Sacramento River at Ord Ferry. The area is situated on the Butte-Glenn county line along the Sacramento River Wildlife Refuge and was expected to reach 114.5 inches, about 6 inches above flood stage, Sunday afternoon.

Other points downstream, including all five gravity-fed weirs along the river, remain well below flood stage.

Other parts of California affected

Mountain travel improved Sunday along Interstate 80 and Highway 50 a day after Caltrans officials shut down the Sierra passes because of slick roads, snow and whiteout conditions.

The University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab tweeted Sunday morning that it received 21.5 inches of snow in 24 hours. Its snowpack of about 10 feet was expected to grow several more feet by Monday.

A backcountry avalanche warning remained in effect for the central Sierra, including the greater Lake Tahoe area, through Monday.

The California Highway Patrol rescued three people whose car slid off a rain-slicked road and ended up teetering at the edge of a cliff in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Friday. The occupants of the car “were scared for their lives and were in disbelief” when they were pulled safely from the car as the vehicle’s front end hung precariously over the cliff’s edge, the highway patrol said in a statement.

“We cannot stress this enough. Please ONLY drive if it’s necessary,” the statement said.

Just to the south in Santa Cruz County, the tiny community of Felton Grove along the San Lorenzo River was under an evacuation warning.

The swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County.

At least 19 storm-related deaths have occurred, and a 5-year-old boy remained missing after being swept out of his mother’s car by floodwaters in San Luis Obispo County.

Dry days are in this week’s forecast for California starting on Tuesday.

This story was originally published January 15, 2023 at 1:28 PM.