Even as the spring heat wave that’s thawed California’s record Sierra Nevada snowpack comes to a close, communities across the Central Valley and the state’s northeastern mountains are continuing to prepare for potentially dangerous flooding. Already, near-overflowing rivers triggered the closure of much of Yosemite National Park on Friday. The Yosemite Valley, home to many of the famous cliffs and waterfalls in the park, was expected to reopen for day-use only on Sunday morning before a full opening Monday morning, when a flood warning for the area was set to expire. Indefinite flood warnings were also in effect for areas near rushing rivers in parts of Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties, where some 60,000 acres of farmland are under about 3 feet of water brought by last month’s powerful atmospheric river storms.

Related articles: 

• Los Angeles Times: Cool temps to follow warm weekend in California, likely minimize snowmelt, flooding
• Hanford Sentinel: Hanford not in high-risk flood area, Kings County map shows; county urges residents in flood-prone areas to prepare
• YourCentralValley: Central Valley irrigation districts capturing runoff to protect against floods