LOS ANGELES: The ninth atmospheric river in a three-week series of major winter storms was churning through California on Monday, leaving mountain driving dangerous and the flooding risk high near swollen rivers even as the sun came out in some areas.
Heavy snow fell across the Sierra Nevada and the National Weather Service discouraged travel. Interstate 80, a key highway from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe ski resorts, reopened with chain requirements after periodic weekend closures because of whiteout conditions.
“If you must travel, be prepared for dangerous travel conditions, significant travel delays and road closures,” the weather service office in Sacramento said on Twitter.
The University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab tweeted Monday morning that it had recorded 49.6 inches (126 cm) of new snow since Friday.
A backcountry avalanche warning was issued for the central Sierra, including the greater Tahoe area.
A barrage of atmospheric river storms has dumped rain and snow on California since late December, cutting power to thousands, swamping roads, toppling trees, unleashing debris flows and triggering landslides. Monday’s system was relatively weak compared with earlier storms, but flooding and mudslide risks remained because the state was so saturated, forecasters said.
Mostly dry days were in the week’s forecast, though some parts of Northern California could see more rain at midweek.
The sun came out Monday in San Francisco, where 20.3 inches (51.5 cm) of rain has fallen at the city’s airport since Oct. 1, when California typically begins recording rainfall for the year. The average for the “water year” is 19.6 inches (49.8 cm), “so we’ve surpassed the yearly total with 8 more months to go,” the San Francisco weather service office tweeted.
Across the bay in Berkeley, 10 homes were evacuated Monday when a sodden hillside collapsed, sending mud onto properties. No injuries were reported.
Up to 2 more inches (5 cm) of rain fell Sunday in the soaked Sacramento Valley, where residents of Wilton and surrounding communities were warned to prepare to leave if the Cosumnes River rose further.
In Monterey County, the swollen Salinas River swamped farmland over the weekend and officials said Monday that it was still rising. To the east, flood warnings were still in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Saturday.
Newsom on Monday signed an executive order to further bolster the state’s emergency storm response and help communities that suffered damage. President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in the state and ordered federal aid to supplement local recovery efforts.
In Southern California, the sun shone in Los Angeles, but winter storm warnings and adviseries were still in place for mountain areas, where many roads remained impassable because of mud and rock slides. Two northbound lanes of Interstate 5 near Castaic in northern LA County were closed indefinitely after a hillside collapsed.
Downtown Los Angeles set a rainfall record Saturday with 1.82 inches (4.6 cm), the weather service said.
At least 20 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.
Forecasters were keeping their eyes on a storm forming in the Pacific to see if it gains enough strength to become the state’s 10th atmospheric river of the season. Either way it is likely to only bring light rain and will be confined mostly to Northern California when it makes landfall Wednesday, state climatologist Dr. Mike Anderson said Monday during a state weather briefing.
More rain, snow in California from ninth in series of storms
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More rain, snow in California from ninth in series of storms
- A barrage of atmospheric river storms has dumped rain and snow on California since late December, cutting power to thousands, swamping roads, toppling trees, unleashing debris flows and triggering landslides
Britain needs to step up defense spending faster, says Starmer
- Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30
LONDON: Britain should step up and accelerate its defense spending, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, following a report that the government was considering bringing forward its target to spend 3 percent of economic output on defense.
Britain, which has warned of the risks posed by Russia, said in February 2025 that it would lift annual defense spending to 2.5 percent of the GDP by 2027 and aim for 3 percent in the next Parliament, which is expected to begin after an election due in 2029.
The BBC reported that the government was now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029. It said no decision had been taken but the government recognized current plans would not cover rising defense costs.
HIGHLIGHT
The BBC reported that the government is now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029.
Asked whether he would bring the target forward to 2029, Starmer echoed comments he made at the Munich Security Conference, where he said Europe had united to support Ukraine with the supply of weapons and munitions and to strengthen military readiness.
“We need to step up. That means on defense spending, we need to go faster,” Starmer told reporters on Monday. “We’ve obviously made commitments already in relation to that, but it goes beyond just how much you spend.”
Latest NATO estimates show that Britain spent 2.3 percent of the GDP on defense in 2024, above the alliance’s 2 percent guideline. But like other European countries, it has faced US pressure to spend more to protect the continent. Struggling with high debt and spending commitments, the government last year cut its international aid budget to fund the hike in defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP but is yet to publish an investment plan with spending priorities, something that has frustrated the defense industry.
Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30.
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has struggled to stay on track with her plans to repair the public finances. The BBC said the Finance Ministry was believed to be cautious about the new defense spending proposals.
A government spokesperson said Britain was “delivering the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War.”
