Latest: Officials to run test flows on dam damaged by storms

OROVILLE, Calif. – The Latest on winter storms in California (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

Water officials will release test flows from a Northern California reservoir to determine how much water can rush past a damaged spillway.

The Department of Water Resources said it will release up to 20,000 cubic feet per second Wednesday afternoon through the Oroville Dam’s main spillway. The test flow will run for about two hours.

The department closed the spillway Tuesday after noticing water was flowing irregularly. After stopping the flow, engineers found a gaping hole in the concrete chute.

It says workers are removing trees and debris from the corridor near the dam where water would flow in the event the emergency spillway is needed.

Officials say the giant hole does not pose a threat to the earthen dam or public safety.

Oroville is California’s second-largest reservoir and is 80 per cent full thanks to a winter of wet storms that continue Wednesday. The spillway dumps water into the Feather River.

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11 a.m.

Officials have shut down flow from a dam at a rising Northern California reservoir after chunks of concrete went flying off the spillway, creating a 200-foot-long, 30-foot-deep hole.

The Department of Water Resources closed Oroville Dam’s spillway amid storms Tuesday after noticing water was flowing irregularly. With the water held back, the erosion was apparent.

Officials say the giant hole does not pose a threat to the earthen dam or public safety.

Oroville is California’s second-largest reservoir and is 80 per cent full thanks to a winter of wet storms that continue Wednesday. The spillway dumps water into the Feather River.

Flood warnings are in place in swaths of northern and central California as another system moves ashore.

Strong winds with local gusts topping 60 mph are predicted in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area and south into the Santa Cruz Mountains.

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5:15 a.m.

Flood warnings and wind advisories are in place as another powerful storm moves into Northern California a day after heavy rains deluged homes and caused rockslides that shut down highways and bridges.

The National Weather Service says the risk of flooding is high Wednesday north of San Francisco along the swollen Russian River, which overtopped its banks during a series of storms last month.

Strong winds with local gusts topping 60 mph are predicted in parts of the Bay Area and south into the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Crews rescued residents from rising floodwaters Tuesday in Marin County, where a mudslide toppled trees and split a hillside house in half. Heavy flooding was also reported throughout Fresno County.

Commuters in greater Los Angeles Wednesday are dealing with dense fog and slick roads from ongoing rain showers.