California's Coastal Areas Face Serious Flooding Challenges

California's coastal regions are dealing with serious flooding issues. Heavy rain and unusually high tides have caused major problems. These conditions have led to mudslides and flooding, making travel difficult in some areas. In Santa Barbara County, the local airport had to close. Floodwaters covered the runways, and flights were canceled. Two important highways, Highway 1 and Highway 101, were also shut down. Mudslides and flooding blocked these major routes. The National Weather Service issued warnings. They predicted more coastal flooding in the San Francisco Bay Area. Southern California was also at risk of flash floods. The region has seen nearly a month of heavy rainfall. This has increased the chance of landslides. John Feldhans, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara Airport, said the flooding was the worst they've seen. He mentioned that the airport would likely stay closed until Sunday. The storm hit during a time when the sun, earth, and moon were aligned. This alignment created exceptionally high tides, known as king tides.In San Francisco, these king tides reached nearly two and a half feet above normal levels. This was one of the highest tides the city has seen since 1998. Combined with heavy rain, these tides caused significant flooding in coastal areas. Winter is usually the wettest time of the year for California. However, the past few months have been exceptionally wet. Before the latest storm, Los Angeles had already recorded nearly 13 inches of rain since October. This is more than three times the usual amount for this period. The latest storm was expected to add at least another inch. The rain is expected to ease on Sunday. Drier weather is forecasted for the rest of the week. This will hopefully give the affected areas some time to recover.