Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A huge storm system dumped record amounts of rain on southern California and prompted concern the poor weather could spread across the US.
The deluge came at the end of a week that saw Los Angeles receive half its annual rainfall in just six days.
Hundreds of people were evacuated in the city's suburbs, with particular concerns for homes in steep-sided canyons previously ravaged by wildfires. Flood warnings and emergency orders have also been put in place in Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
There are concerns that the weather system will spread across the US, reaching New Mexico by Thursday and the Gulf Coast by the end of the week. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in half a dozen communities after heavy rain and snow.
He said the storms were "likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any single county, or city."
An estimated 17 feet of snow has fallen in less than a week at one monitor station in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, according to the US meteorologists. "The ground is so saturated it could move at any time," said Bob Spencer, spokesman for the LA County Department of Public Works.
The heavy falls in California have brought relief from the state's drought, with water storage in California's seven reservoirs rising by two-thirds on last year's levels following the downfall.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments