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More Rain and Snow Are Lashing California

Up to three feet of snow was forecast for the Sierra Nevada and other higher elevations, less than a week after tornadoes battered parts of the state. More than 18,000 customers were without power on Tuesday afternoon.

A man wearing a red-hooded sweatshirt shovels snow between a house and a snowdrift.
Robert Mendoza shoveled out his neighbor’s home, still covered in snow from previous storms near Mammoth Lakes, California on Tuesday.Credit...Mario Tama/Getty Images

California is enduring another round of heavy rain and mountain snow, continuing a relentless stretch of extreme weather across the West that has proved dangerous, deadly and disruptive to millions of people in recent months.

The latest powerful Pacific storm, yet another formation known as an atmospheric river, moved inland early Tuesday and is expected to linger through Wednesday, delivering rain over the Central California coast, the National Weather Service said, potentially putting millions of Californians in the path of flash flooding. The higher elevations of the northern coastal ranges and the Sierra Nevada are expected to be hit the hardest, with up to three feet of snow predicted.

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The latest atmospheric river to hit the West put California at risk of flash flooding and heavy snowfall.CreditCredit...NOAA via Storyful

Atmospheric river storms, which get their name from their long, narrow shape and the prodigious amount of water they carry, have repeatedly flooded communities, trapped residents in snow, caused mudslides and shut down major roadways during California’s brutal winter and spring.

“The main impact is going to be very heavy snow over the Sierra Nevada mountains,” said Craig Shoemaker, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Sacramento, adding that snowfall rates would most likely be in the two- to four-inch-an-hour range for much of Tuesday.

“As far as the valley goes, we’re expecting through Thursday morning anywhere from three-quarters of an inch to an inch and a half of rain,” he said.

Strong winds associated with this weather system brought gusts of up to 68 miles per hour in parts of Northern California, the National Weather Service in Sacramento said. Gusty conditions were also forecast for southern Oregon and western Nevada.

Roads throughout California were also closed because of the hazardous conditions, including the Interstate 80, which was shut between the Nevada state line and Colfax, northeast of Sacramento, after “multiple spinouts,” the California Highway Patrol in Truckee said on Twitter. It was unclear when the highway would reopen.

In Benicia, more than 20 miles northeast of San Francisco, a car flew off an overpass onto the street below, the Benicia Police Department said on Twitter, adding that no one was injured. “Please slow down,” the police said.

The governor’s emergency services office urged people to “avoid mountain travel if possible,’’ adding that those who need to travel should “keep an emergency bag” in their vehicle with food, water and a blanket.

On Tuesday afternoon, an overturned box truck blocked southbound lanes along the Capital City Freeway at the Interstate 80 interchange in Sacramento, according to the California Department of Transportation. No injuries were reported. Footage posted to social media appeared to show heavy snow and reduced visibility on the major roadway.

This storm will have a weaker punch compared with previous storms. “We’ve also had a little break, it hasn’t rained for about a week or so,” Mr. Shoemaker said. “The break has also helped allow those rivers and streams to reduce in their flow.”

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Cabins in the Sierra Nevada were partially buried on Monday, before another storm system was expected to bring more snow to California.Credit...Mario Tama/Getty Images

Nevertheless, a flood watch was in effect for much of the Central Valley through Thursday morning. An evacuation warning was in place in Allensworth, along the Tule River in Tulare County.

The city of Sacramento said its weather respite centers would be open through Wednesday morning. The Tahoe Truckee Unified School District in Nevada County, northeast of Sacramento, said that schools in the district would be closed on Tuesday.

Officials in Placer County, also northeast of Sacramento, reported that heavy winds knocked down trees and electrical lines, causing outages in the area early Tuesday afternoon. Statewide, more than 18,000 customers were without power on Tuesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.

The Sierra Avalanche Center in Truckee, Calif., warned of “high avalanche danger” in the backcountry of the Central Sierra Nevada through Wednesday morning.

“Heavy snow could cause large and destructive avalanches,” the Weather Service said.

Southern California was not going to be spared. A winter storm warning was in effect through Thursday afternoon for the eastern San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles, with high winds and snow making travel “very difficult to impossible,” forecasters said.

Last week, at least five people in California were killed and several others were injured by falling trees, prompted by another storm system.

That storm also spawned two tornadoes, one that touched down in a mobile home park in Carpinteria, about 11 miles east of Santa Barbara. A second tornado touched down in Montebello, a suburb of Los Angeles.

At least a dozen atmospheric rivers have slammed the state since late last year, flooding communities and trapping residents in snow.

With another storm set to bring a mixed bag of precipitation to California this week, some residents may be asking when the weather will finally shift.

“While we’re continuing in a fairly active pattern, we have been seeing longer breaks in between systems, here over the past couple of weeks,” Mr. Shoemaker said, adding that the short breaks between systems should continue.

In a few weeks, weather-fatigued residents may see some much needed relief from the ongoing rain and snow. “It looks like the pattern is going to gradually dry out as we head into the middle part of April,” Mr. Shoemaker said. “Inevitably, it will shut off.”

Derrick Bryson Taylor is a general assignment reporter. He previously worked at The New York Post’s PageSix.com and Essence magazine. More about Derrick Bryson Taylor

Johnny Diaz is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news. He previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and The Boston Globe. More about Johnny Diaz

Livia Albeck-Ripka is a reporter for The Times based in California. She was previously a reporter in the Australia bureau. More about Livia Albeck-Ripka

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