California Residents Are A Bit Special.... LOL

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Cali FTW..

That's just damn sad. Talk about making So. Cal look stupid....

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http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/22/winter.weather/index.html

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Half a dozen southern California counties were under an emergency declaration Wednesday as another powerful storm from the Pacific pummeled the region.

The declaration from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warns of a forecast that calls for "extraordinary and continuing rainfall" that is likely to cause more flooding and landslides. It authorizes state assistance for local authorities.

The proclamation covers Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo and Tulare counties in southern California.

"We're preparing for what we expect to be a very heavy, severe rainstorm ..." said Mike Kaspar with Los Angeles County Public Works. "In the worst-case scenario, we could be looking at as much as 8 inches more of rain in the southern California area."

Storm-weary Californians slogged through another day of record-breaking snow, rain and flooding Tuesday from a series of storms.

The five-day rain total has topped 10 inches in many areas, with heavier amounts in some places. More than 21 inches have fallen on Twin Peaks in San Bernardino County, with Twin Creek receiving nearly 20 inches.

Amtrak said on Wednesday it had suspended its Pacific Surfliner service between San Diego and San Juan Capistrano because of mudslides and flooding. "No alternate transportation is available," the company said in a statement. Pacific Surfliners were operating between San Luis Obispo and San Juan Capistrano via Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, Amtrak said.

In Orange County, authorities were on the scene of a mudslide that affected homes in the Silverado Canyon area, the county's Fire Authority said on Twitter. Rescues were needed, and evacuations were underway, according to the Fire Authority.

In Los Angeles County, meanwhile, authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 230 homes in two neighborhoods out of fear of debris flows. Of the 232 homes ordered evacuated in the La Canada Flintridge and La Crescenta areas, however, only one family left, said Nicole Nishida, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Streets in downtown Laguna Beach were closed Wednesday because of extensive flooding, KABC reported.

But in southwestern Utah, a dam that authorities had feared was in imminent danger of giving way to floodwaters was found to be in stronger condition than previously believed, said Marc Mortensen, a spokesman for Washington County.

The roughly 800 residents of the towns of Virgin and Rockville were allowed to return to their homes Tuesday night, Mortensen said. Engineers will monitor the dam, located on the Virgin River, and conduct more tests on Wednesday, when high water flows are expected again, he said.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said he was prepared to declare a state of emergency in the south, where floodwaters also washed out at least one bridge.

"We are closely monitoring the activity in southern Utah, and praying for the safety of all of the area's residents," Herbert said in a statement.

Flash flood watches were also in effect for western Arizona through Wednesday night.

In southern California, where the car is king, a record number of motorists reported dead batteries, a need for emergency tows and crashed vehicles, said spokesman Jeffrey Spring of the Automobile Club of Southern California.

More than 25,000 distraught motorists made calls for help on Monday, the largest number ever in a 24-hour period for the AAA's largest U.S. affiliate, Spring said.

"We're in southern California, and we don't have a lot of experience driving in the rain, and some people drive through high puddles not realizing what kind of effect it can have on a car," Spring said. "If the engine gets splashed and gets wet, it can stop the car right there."

Spring said AAA was "able to serve the majority of members in 30 minutes," although he added, "I'm sure there were a number of people who had to wait longer than that."

Monday's call volume surpassed the prior record of about 22,000 on October 9, 2008, when a heat wave and the scorching Santa Ana winds disabled many automobiles, Spring said. Monday's weather -- torrential rains -- had opposite conditions, he said.

"Batteries are fickle things if they're not at full strength," Spring said. "Hot weather can affect them and weather like this."

Deborah Craigo, 39, who lives in the Mojave Desert community of Hesperia, California, said monsoon conditions have inundated the arid landscape.

Fire stations are even offering sandbags to residents who want to shore up defenses to their homes, said Craigo, who is a CNN iReporter.

"It's been raining from two days ago and it just has not stopped. They closed a lot of the roads down," said Craigo, a mother and college student. "It's pretty bad now. We have a riverbed in back of our house, and two days ago it was completely bone dry. And then within two days the riverbed is completely full."

The series of storms originating in the Pacific are known as the "Pineapple Express" because of their origin near the Hawaiian Islands. They have brought heavy snow to the higher elevations, with torrential rainfall in lower spots and high winds. Total rainfall has approached 10 inches in some areas.

Numerous roads were closed because of mudslides or flooding.

High winds also whipped much of the state, particularly at high elevations. Peak wind gusts reached 152 mph in Alpine Meadows summit in northern California, the weather service reported.

Mudslides forced officials to close a portion of State Route 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in Ventura County, according to the California Department of Transportation. The Pacific Coast Highway was also closed north of Santa Barbara due to flooding.

A mudslide also closed a portion of State Route 41 in San Luis Obispo County. A stretch of State Route 34 in the Oxnard area was closed because of flooding.

The danger of mudslides will probably intensify, CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said.

[^_^ 5,021]

Sounds like the way southerners react when they get a half inch of snow.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

"We're in southern California, and we don't have a lot of experience driving in the rain, and some people drive through high puddles not realizing what kind of effect it can have on a car," Spring said. "If the engine gets splashed and gets wet, it can stop the car right there."

heaven forbid they get any snow.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Cali FTW..

That's just damn sad. Talk about making So. Cal look stupid....

Sorry Paul, but that is just ignorant. It has rained for 8 days here now. That is undoubtedly greater than the yearly total. As such, the roads get coated with a film of brake dust, oil, grease etc that causes numerous accidents. Then take into account all the communities that are sitting on foothils, or in the hills and small mountains themselves. 20+ inches of rain isn't a little bit.

heaven forbid they get any snow.

Actually, about 4 years ago, it did. Well, it was about 20 minutes north of L.A., but the reaction was as you would expect. People were in gridlock traffic, and got out of their cars to marvel at the snow.

[Amby 490]

When I lived there I was told part of the reason it's so bad is because it rains so little there and when it does a lot of stuff has built up on the roads and makes them more slick than it would be in a place where it rains more often.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Amby

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Sorry Paul, but that is just ignorant. It has rained for 8 days here now. That is undoubtedly greater than the yearly total. As such, the roads get coated with a film of brake dust, oil, grease etc that causes numerous accidents. Then take into account all the communities that are sitting on foothils, or in the hills and small mountains themselves. 20+ inches of rain isn't a little bit.

You do realize this is normal for a lot of places though?

That's why it's funny....

[The_Dude 1,142]

You do realize this is normal for a lot of places though?

That's why it's funny....

Yes, and in southeast asia, they regularly get monsoons. It would be funny to see a monsoon hit Dallas to see all the dumb texans running around........

[The_Dude 1,142]

Oh noes Paul, this article that I found shows that aparently, Texans don't know how to drive in the snow. It's normal that it snows, so why are Texans so special that they manage to pile up deadly car crashes when it snows?

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Spring-snowstorm-blankets-North-Texas-88760717.html

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Oh noes Paul, this article that I found shows that aparently, Texans don't know how to drive in the snow. It's normal that it snows, so why are Texans so special that they manage to pile up deadly car crashes when it snows?

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Spring-snowstorm-blankets-North-Texas-88760717.html

I lived in MN for 3 1/2 years. They didn't know how to handle it very well either after the first snowfall of they year... they seemed to magically "forget" in 4 months...

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I lived in MN for 3 1/2 years. They didn't know how to handle it very well either after the first snowfall of they year... they seemed to magically "forget" in 4 months...

Yeah not sure why that is. Up north we obviously get alot of rain between November and April and then nothing in between. That first rainfall of the fall always creates tons of accidents, partially because people forget and partially for Rob mentioned regarding the road surface.

[james&olya 1,121]

I lived in MN for 3 1/2 years. They didn't know how to handle it very well either after the first snowfall of they year... they seemed to magically "forget" in 4 months...

People are really pretty much the same anywhere you go. If you observe that people do things differently or think differently somewhere else you might want to have the basic wisdom to pause and consider that maybe conditions are different there and it makes a lot more sense to do things their way given the situation they are in. Ignorant smug mocking and criticism of other places, cultures, and races reveals more about the person doing the criticism than about the target of their criticism. Now I need to take my own advice and try to understand why fox noise viewers have the strange beliefs that they do!

[Kevin and 10]

I lived in MN for 3 1/2 years. They didn't know how to handle it very well either after the first snowfall of they year... they seemed to magically "forget" in 4 months...

4 months, try 3 weeks. We're on our 3rd or 4th snow storm and some people already forgot.

[_Simpson_ 250]

I think what makes California "special" is that they have the audacity to blame republicans for that sad state of affairs that California is in.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I just heard the emergency channel announcement. Flash flood warnings in Ventura, Calabasas, Mulholland, and La Canada with an possibility of 0.75 to 1.0 inches of rain per hour. Great.

[^_^ 5,021]

La Canada?