California Braces for Catastrophic Flooding as Historic Snowmelt Accelerates

Record snowfall over the winter is rapidly melting and overwhelming reservoirs, threatening widespread flooding across multiple regions
The San Joaquin Valley faces some of the greatest risks, with acreages of farmland and communities already submerged under recently revived Tulare Lake
Yosemite National Park will temporarily close large parts of Yosemite Valley to visitors as the Merced River is expected to exceed flood stage
State and local officials are scrambling to secure funds and implement measures like raising levees to divert floodwaters, but resources and time are limited
The extreme weather follows a pattern of more intense atmospheric rivers and precipitation in California due to climate change, a trend that is projected to worsen flooding and damage in the coming decades