Yosemite National Park to reopen following storm, flooding

SAN FRANCISCO - The Latest on winter storms in California and Nevada (all times local):

1 p.m.

Rangers at Yosemite National Park say they will reopen the valley floor to visitors Tuesday morning after it was closed through the weekend and Monday because of a storm-swollen river.

Park Spokesman Scott Gediman says that the Merced River that runs through the valley floor reached its high point early Monday morning and is gradually dropping.

Gediman said that guests will be allowed back in starting at 8 a.m. for day visitors.

Overnight guests will be allowed Wednesday, giving hotel and restaurant workers time to prepare.

The Yosemite valley floor was closed for the entire weekend because of the massive storm that caused flooding.

Park workers are checking on the extent of damage to water and sewer systems.

10:45 a.m.

Los Angeles County health officials are advising swimmers and surfers to stay out of the ocean for at least three days because of heavy storm runoff.

The advisory issued Monday came as a massive storm system moved through Southern California with heavy rain and minor flooding.

Seawater bacteria levels can increase significantly during and after rainstorms as contaminants in storm runoff enter the ocean via storm drains, creeks and rivers.

The advisories are common customary following heavy rains. The current advisory is in place through Thursday morning.

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10:30 a.m.

Reno has been hit by flooding of roads and businesses plus malfunctioning traffic lights but the washouts ended up not as devastating as officials feared.

Authorities say the Truckee River peaked at 19.5 feet on Monday, more than four feet above flood stage.

Projections of a 20.5 foot crest that would have crossed a key flood severity threshold did not materialize.

The hardest-hit area is an industrial and warehouse district in the city of Sparks next to Reno.

About 200 people spent the night at emergency shelters but many were going home Monday.

The Nevada National Guard is deploying high-water vehicles to help evacuate residents in one town.

Sparks spokesman Adam Mayberry said just because the river has peaked doesn't mean the city is back to normal.

He says the main priority of authorities is reopening roads and getting evacuated people home.

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10:10 a.m.

California authorities say a 12-year-old girl was rescued from a car that flipped upside down into a storm-surged creek next to a Northern California road.

KCRA-TV in Sacramento reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/2iaVgIg) that deputies came upon the small car overturned near Highway 49 in Placer County.

They say a woman pulled herself from the car partially submerged under flowing storm runoff. She screamed that her daughter was still inside.

Deputies for the Placer County Sheriff's Office report they rescued the girl with help from passing motorists.

Eighteen-year-old motorist Jared Sharp tells the KCRA-TV that the car's doors were jammed, making it difficult to remove the girl.

Authorities say the girl was unconscious but became alert after receiving first aid.

No details were provided about her condition.

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8:50 a.m.

The Nevada National Guard is deploying high-water vehicles to help evacuate residents in one town east of Reno, and to shuttle damage assessment teams to Sparks.

Lt. Col. Mickey Kirschenbaum said Monday about a dozen guard members are involved. He says the agency has other resources available, including helicopters on standby if needed.

Kirschenbaum says five of the vehicles will be used to help evacuate people from a neighborhood that's been cut off by flooding in the town of Lockwood east of Reno.

About 1,300 residents have been evacuated from about 400 homes in a Reno neighborhood near the Truckee River.

Flooding in the city Sparks next to Reno was expected to send several feet of water early Monday into an industrial area where 25,000 people work.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has declared a state of emergency in flooded areas and told non-essential state employees to stay home from work.

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8:15 a.m.

A heavy winter storm that blocked roads and caused widespread flooding has shuttered some ski resorts in Northern California for a second day.

Sugar Bowl Resort posts on its Facebook page that a power outage and "significant avalanche hazards" will keep the resort closed until Tuesday morning. It was closed Sunday.

Heavenly Mountain also stated on social media that it was experiencing strong winds and that the California side was without power. It, too, closed Sunday.

To the south, spokeswoman Joani Lynch says Mammoth Mountain ski resort would open Monday after closing Sunday over high winds, thunder and lightning.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Steve Anderson in Monterey says residents should expect another round of moderate to heavy rain starting early Tuesday.

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7 a.m.

A fast-moving storm cell dumped heavy rain across Southern California, flooding roads and highways and snarling commuter traffic.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood advisories Monday as river levels rose in mountain areas from Kern County south into Los Angeles County.

Water pooled in roadways, causing traffic backups.

Residents along LA-area hillsides scarred by wildfires are warned of possible mudslides, but only minor debris flows have been reported.

The downpours are expected to lighten throughout the morning, but there is another chance of rain Tuesday night into Wednesday and again later in the week.

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5 a.m.

Hundreds of people fled homes in Northern California and Nevada as a massive winter storm packing heavy rain, strong winds and lightning caused mudslides and widespread flooding.

The Russian River in California's Sonoma County and the Truckee River near Reno, Nevada, overflowed their banks late Sunday and officials say both waterways could stay at the flood stage for days.

Schools are canceled Monday in hard-hit Sonoma County, where thousands are without power and many roads are unpassable.

Mudslides caused road closures across the region, including along major highways.

Fears of avalanches are growing in the northern Sierra Nevada as rain soaks the snowpack.

Heavy rain has also moved into Southern California, where commuters are warned of flooding along Los Angeles-area highways.

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1 a.m.

A well-known giant sequoia tree known for the huge tunnel carved through it has toppled during California's weekend storms.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/2i8THu8 ) that the historic Pioneer Cabin in Calaveras Big Trees State Park in Calaveras County came down during heavy rains on Sunday.

The tree was hollowed out in the 1880s to allow tourists to pass through it.

Cars later used the massive tunnel, but more recently it has hosted only hikers.

Park volunteer Jim Allday of Arnold says the tree shattered as it hit the ground.

There was no immediate word on what caused the tee to fall, but the Chronicle reports that it probably had to do with the tree's shallow root system and the inundation.