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California seeks aid from White House amid onslaught of atmospheric river storms | Updates

The National Weather Service warned of a 'relentless parade of atmospheric rivers' over the coming week,
Credit: ABC10
Storm damage in Sacramento on Jan. 8, 2023.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —  

Another strong atmospheric river storm is forecast to bring high winds, rain to the Sacramento region and California on Sunday.

In a press conference Sunday, Governor Gavin Newsom said they're reaching out for aid to the White House, seeking an emergency declaration to get the support of the federal government behind them. It would be an emergency that is in additional to the emergency declaration made by the state Wednesday.

Power outages are widespread with more than 1,000 outages leaving more than 62,000 SMUD customers without electricity as of 4 p.m. Sunday morning. It's down from more than 330,000 earlier in the morning. On its website, SMUD says, "High winds have caused outages throughout our area. Crews are working as safely and quickly as possible to restore power."

PG&E's outage map is showing widespread outages in West Sacramento, Marysville, Davis and parts of Stockton.

The National Weather Service warned of a “relentless parade of atmospheric rivers” over the coming week, producing heavy rain and mountain snow. Atmospheric river storms are long plumes of moisture stretching out into the Pacific and are capable of dropping staggering amounts of rain and snow.

The agency's Sacramento office tweeted early Sunday that parts of the Sacramento Valley were experiencing “strong winds with gusts up to 60 mph,” as well as “numerous trees and power lines down with power outages.”

The Sacramento Regional Transit District says power outages and fallen trees are causing a bus bridge to be enacted on its Blue and Gold lines.

The storms won’t be enough to officially end California’s ongoing drought but they have helped.

Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth said this is the fifth atmospheric river, with a sixth expected to arrive later in the week, roughly Jan 12-14.

The storms have led to high waters in local rivers which prompted  the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services to issue an evacuation order for the Wilton area. 

Read more about the evacuation order HERE.

Evacuations warnings were issued in Sutter county for Lovey's Landing trailer park near Meridian. Possible flooding also prompted an evacuation warning in El Dorado County for Highway 50 and White Hall and Highway 49 and Union Mine Road to the Amador/El Dorado county border. 

Those in Sacramento County who have been impacted by the storm can seek shelter at the Barbra Morse Wackford Community Center at 9014 Bruceville Road, Room B, Elk Grove CA. The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services opened the shelter Sunday morning.

►  RELATED:  Here's how state officials are preparing for potential floods, other storm problems

►  STORM SCENES: Photos and video of the latest storm damage

Maps 

Radar map from ABC10.comAdjust the layers with a filter on the bottom right corner to show rain, snow, wind and current temperatures:

STORM RESOURCES:

RESOURCES | Helpful information and emergency resources to get you through this storm
FORECAST DETAILS | Check out our hourly forecast and radar pages.
 GET WEATHER ALERTS TO YOUR PHONE | Download the ABC10 mobile app  
WEATHER IN YOUR EMAIL | Sign up for the ABC10 Today newsletter

TRAFFIC

Live map showing traffic conditions along Interstate 80, Highway 50, Highway 89 around Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Mountains. 

Snow Park locations are identified with purple markers.

RELATED: Tips and tricks for putting chains on your tires this winter

Sacramento Valley traffic from Waze (zoom in to where you want to go):

Power Outages

PG&E power outages:

SMUD outages can be found HERE.

Lodi Electric Utility outages can be found HERE.

RELATED: 5 hacks to get you through a power outage

Click HERE for more ABC10 weather maps.

Chain Controls

Interstate 80

Highway 50

  • There are currently no chain controls on Highway 50, according to Caltrans.

Highway 88

  • Chain controls are in place for all cars from Iron Mountain Road to Pickett's Junction in both directions, according to Caltrans.

Highway 4

  • Chain controls are in place for all cars from Cottage Springs to Ebbett's Pass in both directions, according to Caltrans. The Highway is closed in both directions from Ebbett's Pass to Monitor Pass in both directions. 
  • Sandbags

    Counties across Northern California are offering sandbags to residents. Locations are listed HERE.

WATCH MORE: Northern California storm watch: More wind and rain is on the way Sunday and Monday

Before You Leave, Check This Out