At least 3 dead as western U.S. state drenched by 'atmospheric river' storm

Southern California continues to be drenched Tuesday by a deadly "atmospheric river" storm that has dumped nearly 1 foot (30 centimeters) of rain in and around the Los Angeles area since Sunday, said officials.

The rainfall has flooded streets and highways, triggering more than 300 mudslides, according to local authorities.

Even though the brunt of the storm has passed, forecasters expect another 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 centimeters) of rain in the area through Wednesday, which opens the possibility of more destruction for millions of residents who remain under flash flood watches and warnings.

"As the storm continues, there are many water-soaked hillsides that have the potential to slide," Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told reporters. "We would like to reiterate to use extreme caution if you live or travel in these areas."

At least three fatalities have been reported due to trees falling on houses, according to officials, as southern California remains under a state of emergency.

Nearly 150,000 homes are without power, as crews try to restore electricity. Heavy winds between 40 to 60 miles per hour (64 to 96 kilometers per hour) blew down power lines and trees, causing a blackout and littering the area with debris.

Weather officials said downtown Los Angeles received its third wettest two-day stretch of rainfall, accumulating 7.03 inches (17.8 centimeters) of rain on Sunday and Monday, which is nearly half of the area's yearly rainfall. The totals for Monday and Tuesday could exceed those historic records.

The surrounding areas of Long Beach and Santa Barbara eclipsed their record rainfall totals, as well as Bel Air, which received nearly 1 foot of rain in the two-day span.

Preliminary damage estimates and the economic loss for the state are estimated between $9 billion and $11 billion, according to AccuWeather.

A winter storm warning remained in effect for parts of the Sierra Nevada mountains where nearly 4 feet (121 centimeters) of snow has fallen in the past three days, causing blizzard-like conditions when combined with hurricane-force winds.

Forecasters expect another 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 centimeters) of snow in the next 24 hours.

The winter storm system is expected to travel east and dump snow in the states of Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, according to the National Weather Service.

The part of the storm system producing the heavy rainfall is expected to dump rain in Arizona and Nevada, said the weather agency.