our chief national correspondent matt gutman in california tonight. reporter: tonight, that atmospheric river roaring into southern california, pelting it with more heavy rains and strong winds. it is expected to bring two to four inches of rain in some areas. noaa issuing a rare high flood risk warning. we rode with the santa barbara fire department to inspect swle. the ground is so saturated already that everything is running off. yeah. it s just not soaking in anymore. we re 100% saturated. and we have more coming. reporter: water-logged monterey county also bracing for more dangerous floods. that just days after a levee breach on the swollen pajaro river sparked rescues and forced thousands from their homes. crews racing to make levee repairs. the flooding also shutting down parts of scenic highway 1 linking monterey and santa cruz after rushing waters eroded an embankment. our rob marciano is in northern california.
rachel: a fox news weather alert, the historic winter storm zeros in on california and flash flood warning in effect in los angeles county and drivers ditching water-logged cars near burbank airport and outside of la, danielous driving conditions in the san danger us driving conditions in the san bernadino mountains and over 100,000 without power across the state. in michigan, crews racing to restore power to more than 450,000. let s check in with meteorologist adam klotz for our fox weather forecast. adam, what s going on? reporter: hey, rachel. out here on fox square on the cold side for sure and in new york city, we ve seen under half an inch of snow possible in the season and might see a bit a little bit later today and continuing to see the big story is all of that wintry weather
texas roads has risen to at least six. when dozens of semis got stuck on i-20 in dallas tuesday, an army of jeeps from a local offroad club sprang into action, hooking themselves together with tow ropes, pulling those semis one by one. my dad s a trucker and i feel for them, and i know i want to do what i can to help them out. and i know the rest of the guys do, too. reporter: in austin, tree limbs snapping under the weight of ice. north of there, crews racing to clear blocked streets and repair utility lines torn by ice-encrusted trees. across the state, more than 300,000 customers don t have power tonight. across the country, airlines canceling more than 5,000 flights since the storms began. the residual effects could last days. david, this freezing rain is expected to continue throughout the night. and it will no doubt create black ice on sidewalks and
more than 40 reported tornadoes across seven states. massive destruction across the storm zone. at least nine lives lost, including a 5-year-old boy. a tree falling on the family car. the boy did not survive. another passenger in the car we re told was rushed to the hospital. powering winds ripping the roof off this hotel in moulton, alabama. nearly all the casualties in atauga county, alabama. preliminary reports it was an ef-3. winds at least 136 miles an hour. look at this. a tornado tearing through a warehouse. workers were huddling inside when it hit. and in lagrange, georgia homes and neighborhoods simply destroyed. crews racing to find survivors tonight. some neighborhoods wiped out. and amid all of this there is news tonight that two more major storms are set to hit the west and at least one of them will track right across the country again. rob marciano standing by to time this out but first abc s steve osunsami just outside atlanta tonight. reporter: more than 40 tornadoes