At least three people have died in a winter storm that has brought near-record amounts of rain and destructive mudslides to parts of California.

Two men were killed by fallen trees in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento, and in Boulder Creek, to the south of San Jose, as the storm lashed the west coast of the United States.

Police also launched an investigation into the death of a man who was found under a tree in his garden in Yuba City, to the northeast of San Francisco.

The storm was the second so-called Pineapple Express weather system, or atmospheric river storm, to hit the state in the past week.

On Monday, virtually all of southern California was under flash flood warnings, including the Los Angeles area, where up to 25.4cm (10in) of rain had fallen, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

At one measuring station in downtown Los Angeles, 17cm (6.7in) of rain had fallen by Monday afternoon – nearly half the yearly average of 36cm (14.25in).

The NSW said that, across two days, it was the third-wettest period in more than 140 years.

“We’re talking about one of the wettest storm systems to impact the greater Los Angeles area since records began,” Ariel Cohen, chief NWS meteorologist in Los Angeles, said.

“Going back to the 1870s, this is one of the top three.”

Read more from Sky News:
American porn star sparks anger after visit to Iran
Dog rescued from shipping container in Texas port

Kristin Crowley, Los Angeles fire chief, said her crews had responded to at least 130 flooding incidents by Monday morning.

There were around 120 mudslides and debris flows throughout the city on Monday, and at least 25 structures were damaged by heavy rainfall or mudslides as of Monday evening, Ms Crowley said.

About 710,000 people across wider California were without power on Monday evening.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Near the Hollywood Hills, floodwaters carried mud, rocks and household objects downhill through Studio City, damaging at least two homes.

“It looks like a river that’s been here for years – I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Keki Mingus, whose neighbours’ homes were damaged.

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency for most of coastal Southern California, while emergency shelters were opened.

Areas of southwestern Arizona were also impacted.

President Biden pledged to provide federal aid.

Atmospheric rivers are weather patterns made from relatively narrow plumes of moisture that form over an ocean and can produce torrential amounts of rain as they move over land.

In these two cases, the atmospheric rivers were called a “Pineapple Express” because they originated near Hawaii.

Related posts:

Announcer uses racial slur against girls’ basketball team who took the knee during national anthem More pressure on Cuomo to quit as top Democrats urge NY governor to resign over harassment claims Boxing champion ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler dies unexpectedly aged 66 George W Bush accidentally condemns ‘unjustified and brutal’ Iraq invasion Mother charged after gun in her son’s backpack went off at school and injured a seven-year-old TV host Nick Cannon ‘about to become a father for the 10th time’ No calm after the storm as Floridians scramble for basics after Hurricane Ian Man survives Hurricane Ian by floating on a sofa for two-and-a-half hours Title 42 or not, the desperate attempt of migrants to cross US border continues Explorer emerges after a record 100 days living underwater Seriously ill man trapped in cave appears in new video 3,000ft underground US hands Ukraine more than a million rounds of ammunition it seized from Iranian ship