Heavy rainfall around the U.S. on Monday prompted first responders in Texas to conduct water rescues and officials in California to issue evacuation warnings over potential mud slides in parts of Los Angeles County.
In San Antonio, firefighters investigated whether five homeless people were swept away by rushing waters early Monday morning, according to fire department spokesperson Woody Woodward. They were camping in drainage tunnels next to a highway north of downtown, officials said.
Firefighters searched multiple locations, including drainage tunnels with the help of a boat, Monday morning and again before noon but did not find anyone.
“No individuals were found, so I cannot confirm if there were in fact five people swept away,” Woodward said, adding that the fire department had conducted 25 water rescue missions or investigation calls from late Sunday night through 8 a.m. Monday with no injuries being reported.
Some parts of the San Antonio area had received up to 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain since Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service. Rainfall was also soaking Houston, Dallas, as well as various parts of north and east Texas.
Meanwhile, heavy rain from weekend storms in Southern California flooded streets and freeways and toppled trees. Flood warnings were issued for parts of the San Francisco Bay area and the San Diego County coast and eastern mountains and deserts.
The Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management issued an evacuation warning near Topanga Canyon effective through Tuesday morning due to possible mud or debris flow.
Rain in some parts could reach up to 2.5 inches (6.3 centimeters) total by Monday night, the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service reported.
There’s an avalanche warning through Tuesday morning for the backcountry in the mountains around the Lake Tahoe area, which might see more than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow, according to The Sierra Avalanche Center in Truckee, California. The incoming storm is expected to bring up to 8 inches (20 cm) of snow to the lake’s shores and up to 14 inches (35 cm) with winds gusting up to 60 mph (95 kph) in the highest elevations beginning late Monday.
In other parts of the country, as in Arkansas, there’s freezing rain. Forecasters warned that up to a half-inch (1.27 centimeters) of ice could coat parts of the state by Monday evening. That prompted an ice storm warning that includes much of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas and the cities of Fayetteville and Fort Smith. A small part of northeastern Oklahoma was also under an ice storm warning Monday, the National Weather Service said.
The ice — combined with winds of up to 20 mph (32 kph) — could lead to power outages, the agency said.
Days of subfreezing temperatures have caused water problems in multiple Arkansas cities and in Memphis, Tennessee, due to broken pipes and equipment.
In Missouri, three fatal accidents were reported Monday morning as freezing drizzle in some spots and freezing rain in others combined to create a thin coat of ice that blanketed much of the state. Capt. John Hotz of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said there was a fatal accident involving a Missouri Department of Transportation truck, but no further details were immediately available. Twenty others were injured in accidents statewide. Most involved cars, trucks and semi-trailers skidding on the ice.
“Just lots of slide-offs,” said Dallas Thompson, a St. Louis-area trooper.
Around the country this week, wintry weather continues. In parts of California and Texas, potentially powerful rainfall was expected to persist throughout Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
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Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri, Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, and John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
