As I described last week, the heavy rain and snow so far this year has been great for California’s drought problem. In just a matter of months the state has gone from serious drought almost everywhere to relatively mild drought in just a few places. But the storms that keep hitting California are creating serious problems in many parts of the state. Wednesday Gov. Newsom declared a state of emergency and yesterday he requested an emergency declaration for the president. Today President Biden approved it. As of now more than half the counties in the state are under a state of emergency.

Central California is being hit hard by what meteorologists call an atmospheric river. The result is heavy rain which is also melting some of the snow we got earlier. More than 9,000 people have been ordered to evacuate from low-lying areas. Many more are without power.

At least two people died Friday as heavy rain fell on a deep snowpack, causing life-threatening flooding in parts of California and prompting evacuation orders. The latest powerful atmospheric river — a fire hose of deep tropical moisture from the Central Pacific Ocean — has been pummeling largely the central part of the already waterlogged and snow-laden state.

The National Weather Service declared “flash flooding emergencies” — its most dire flooding alert — in Tulare County, southeast of Fresno in the southern Central Valley, as heavy rain rapidly melted snowpack in the lower Sierra Nevada. Authorities urged residents to seek higher ground and issued emergency evacuations around midday Friday in low-lying parts of Kern County…

Authorities warned that the dangerous flooding could continue into the evening in those areas, with heavy rainfall expected to persist through the afternoon. As of early Friday afternoon, about 55,000 Californians had no power, and more than 9,400 were under evacuation orders.

“We are seeing some flooding that is very dangerous starting to develop,” David Lawrence, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said at a midday briefing Friday.

Kernville, which is about 40 miles from Bakersfield has major flooding.

#kernville #kernriver pic.twitter.com/fFlkSSvZ6W

— Matt Volpert (@goraftingdotcom) March 10, 2023

Rain has picked up and river continues to rise. #kernville #kernriverflooding #california #flooding pic.twitter.com/28iQjqc0dZ

— dougbarden (@dougbarden) March 10, 2023

Just a few miles north of Kernville is another small town called Springville:

VIDEO: Catastrophic flash flooding in Springville, California. A PDS (particularly dangerous situation) FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY 🚨 is in effect for the region. More rain on the way. #cawx @JimCantore @weatherchannel @WeatherNation @foxweather VIDEO NOT MINE credit Brian Duke on FB pic.twitter.com/FEoG9otRgW

— Michael Gibson (@Geekflanka) March 10, 2023

Crazy #flooding in #Springville #California #atmospheric_river after heavy #rain and snow melt. Dozens of homes flooding, one collapsed and many more threatened to collapse. @jpetramala pic.twitter.com/4IAUf17QjK

— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) March 10, 2023

Along the central coast, San Luis Obispo is also flooding.

🌧️The City is monitoring rising creek levels this morning. Flash Flood warning still in effect. Remember: Turn around, don't drown if you encounter flooded roadways. Get current storm information: https://t.co/KeivgDLRen#SLOCity #Storm2023 pic.twitter.com/VxPiRfvkeC

— City of San Luis Obispo (@City_of_SLO) March 10, 2023

North of that in the town of Soquel, the town has been cut off because the road in and out was washed away.

This isn’t good. Part of the community of Soquel in Santa Cruz County is cut off because Bates Creek washed out North Main Street in the storm #flooding pic.twitter.com/zSUbPEUkXx

— Kurtis Alexander (@kurtisalexander) March 10, 2023

N. Main St. in Soquel. We are now an island. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/Uel0OYkokg

— Molly Four Seasons Landscaping (@other_molly) March 10, 2023

In anticipation of all the rain that is coming, the Oroville Dam released water for the first time since the spillway was damaged in 2017.

The Main Spillway in #Oroville is open for the first time in nearly 4 years.

This is look at the spillway as water started to release just minutes ago.

I’ll have more tonight on @ActionNewsNow at 4,5 and 6 p.m.#Oroville #OrovilleDam pic.twitter.com/PGo6zKIWUF

— Chloe Curtis (@chloecurtisnews) March 10, 2023

The release makes more room for additional rain water in Lake Oroville which is the second largest reservoir in the state.