- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
- Death toll in Brazil bus crash rises to 41
- Odermatt stays hot to break Swiss World Cup wins record
- Neville says Rashford's career at Man Utd nearing 'inevitable ending'
- Syria's new leader vows not to negatively interfere in Lebanon
- Germany pledges security inquest after Christmas market attack
- Putin vows 'destruction' on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack
- Understated Usyk seeks recognition among boxing legends
- France awaits appointment of new government
- Cyclone Chido death toll rises to 94 in Mozambique
- Stokes out of England's Champions Trophy squad
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 28
- Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes
- 'Finally, we made it!': Ho Chi Minh City celebrates first metro
- Angry questions in Germany after Christmas market attack
- China's Zheng pulls out of season-opening United Cup
- Minorities fear targeted attacks in post-revolution Bangladesh
- Tatum's 43-point triple-double propels Celtics over Bulls
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- India's architecture fans guard Mumbai's Art Deco past
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Large earthquake hits battered Vanuatu
- Beaten Fury says Usyk got 'Christmas gift' from judges
- First Singaporean golfer at Masters hopes 'not be in awe' of heroes
'Brutal' storm bears down on California
Some "brutal" weather was bearing down on California on Tuesday, with forecasters warning torrential rain and widespread flooding this week could prove deadly.
The usually parched west of the United States has been walloped by a series of storms over recent weeks that have lashed the coast, bringing near-record rainfall to some parts.
Now a huge system is set to roll in from the Pacific Ocean over Wednesday and Thursday, with meteorologists saying anyone living in its path needs to be prepared.
"This will likely be one of the most impactful systems on a widespread scale that this meteorologist has seen in a long while," one National Weather Service (NWS) forecaster wrote.
"The impacts will include widespread flooding, roads washing out, hillside collapsing, trees down (potentially full groves), widespread power outages, immediate disruption to commerce and the worst of all, likely loss of human life.
"This is truly a brutal system that we are looking at and needs to be taken seriously."
Parts of northern California are already reeling from a powerful storm that hit on New Year's Eve, causing landslides and power outages, as levees were breached and roadways were flooded.
At least one person is known to have died after being trapped in a submerged car.
San Francisco recorded almost 5.5 inches (14 centimeters) of rain on December 31, the second wettest day for the city in recorded history.
Light rain was falling in the region Tuesday, expected to turn heavy on Wednesday, with up to five inches forecast around Sacramento, the NWS said.
"A strong storm system & atmospheric river will bring widespread moderate to heavy rainfall & strong winds to the region from Wed-Thurs. This will increase the threat for widespread flooding and wind damage across the Bay Area & Central Coast," NWS Bay Area tweeted.
The agency said people living in areas affected by the storm should have a "go bag" ready so they can evacuate quickly, and warned of the dangers of mud or rockslides near hills.
The rain is the result of an atmospheric river -- a current of heavy moisture in the air.
Such atmospheric rivers are not uncommon at this time of year, but the present one is connected to a low pressure system that will develop into a "bomb cyclone" -- where air pressure drops suddenly, generating intense winds.
Heavy rain in lower lying areas will turn into heavy snowfall over the mountains as moisture-laden air rises, with up to four feet (1.2 meters) expected over the Sierra Nevada.
The western United States is in the grip of a decades-long drought, with below average precipitation leaving river and reservoir levels worryingly low.
While forecasters say any rain is helpful, sudden downpours brought by heavy storms can do more harm than good as the ground struggles to absorb such high volumes of water so quickly, resulting in flooding.
P.L.Madureira--PC