Floodwaters cover South Davis Rd. near Salinas in Monterey County as Salinas River in California overflows its banks.
The latest in a damaging succession of storm systems has blown into California, bringing heavy flooding to already waterlogged regions of the western US state and threatening snowfalls of up to two metres in areas.
The latest system on Saturday was expected to bring "heavy lower-elevation rain, significant mountain snow, and strong winds," with "another surge of Pacific moisture" expected on Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
It predicted "disastrous flooding" across the lower Salinas River valley, an important agricultural region south of San Francisco Bay.
An AFP news agency journalist saw the Salinas River overtopping its banks in many spots, at times covering farm fields for metres even as rain continued under leaden skies.
The storms of recent weeks were originally welcomed — coming after years of drought — but by now have brought "disastrous" flooding, officials say.
The NWS said an additional 5.0 to 7.5 centimetres of rain could cause new flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Sierra Nevada seeing three to six feet of snow, and heavy winds buffeting central and coastal California at up to 80 kph.
READ MORE: Californians warned of 'disastrous flooding' as eighth storm barrels in
Impassable roads
The most populous US state has been pummeled by near-record downpours over three weeks — an average of nine inches of rain has fallen — with the Salinas Valley among the hardest hit.
On Friday, forecasters warned that the Monterey Peninsula could be cut off and the whole city of Salinas — home to 160,000 people — could be hit by flooding.
But on Saturday an AFP journalist said the city itself had so far been largely spared.
Evacuation orders and warnings were widespread, with forecasters saying major roads could become impassable for days — including highways linking the Monterey Peninsula with the rest of the county.
Around 2030 GMT, there were 36,000 homes without power, according to poweroutage.com.
At least 19 people are known to have died from storm-related causes.
READ MORE: Cyclone gyrating off California threatens new floods in 'soaked' region
Heavy snow
Between storms, workers have rushed out to clear up some of the mess, shoveling mud from roads even in the heart of Los Angeles and using heavy machinery to remove fallen trees or clear rockslides.
An AFP journalist saw tractors in fields near Salinas fighting to pump floodwaters back into the river. Newly falling rain was not helping.
And forecasters say the unsettled weather in the US West — associated with what is called an atmospheric river pattern — is not done.
Over the mountains, heavy snow was making travel dangerous or impossible on a three-day holiday weekend that honours civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior, when many people normally would be heading to ski resorts.
Amid heightened risk of avalanches, officials urged people to stay home.
Authorities in the Lake Tahoe resort area posted pictures showing dozens of vehicles lined up on a road, stalled by a fierce blizzard.
Winter storms are not unusual in California. But global heating is making them wetter and wilder.
At the same time, the western United States has been growing more arid for years.
The latest storms are not enough to end the drought but are "making a good dent," Jay Lund, a water resources specialist at the University of California said.
READ MORE: Evacuations ordered as California braces for flooding
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