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Two Die In Potent Winter Storm; Northern California's Severe Drought Conditions Ease

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) -- A potent winter storm that dumped up to 10 feet of snow in the Sierra, washed out Highway 1 with a massive slide, dumped nearly 9 inches of rain in the Santa Cruz Mountains and flooded a Carmel neighborhood, also claimed the lives of at least two people in the state.

A skier died after he was found upside down in deep snow near a chairlift and intersecting trails at Mammoth Mountain. The resort reported the storm had dropped more than 9 feet of snow as of Friday afternoon with more falling.

Meanwhile, one person died Friday afternoon after seven were trapped in a flooded storm drain system near a Mexican border crossing.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation Friday night for Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties due to damage caused by the storm, allowing Caltrans to ask for federal relief funds.

By Saturday morning, the storm had moved east out of California, leaving residents to clean up in the wake of the damaging weather system that was fueled by the moisture from a potent atmospheric river.

Thousands were allowed to return to their homes in the Santa Cruz Mountains located within the burn zone of last fall's devastating wildfires after they were ordered to evacuate as the storm approached midweek over fear of land and mudslides.

Before the storm arrived in Northern California on Tuesday night, the region was under severe to extreme drought conditions according to the U.S Drought Monitor.

Between Oct 1-Jan 26, San Francisco had received just 3.33 inches of rain. Over the last 72 hours, that total climbed to 5.39 inches -- 41 percent of the annual rainfall total, according to the National Weather Service.

In Oakland, the total was 2.51 inches before the storm and stood at 4.20 inches when the rains passed -- 38 percent of the annual average cumulation.

The news was even better for the South Bay -- hammered by the storm front -- where San Jose saw its yearly total jump to 3.80 inches or 50 percent of its annual average with Salinas seeing its yearly total jump to 4.40 inches or 70 percent of its annual average precipitation.

While it was a good week, Department of Water Resources spokesperson Chris Orrock says we need more.

"The ground was so dry that a lot of the moisture was absorbed into the soils instead of running off into our reservoirs and streams," said Orrock.

And another, weaker weather service, was forecast to roll through the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday.

"It`s not until Monday afternoon that we see the cold front actually push inland to spread rain chances across the SF Bay Area then continue southward with rain spreading to San Benito and Monterey counties by Monday night," weather service forecasters said in their forecast discussion.

"Southerly winds will pick up as the cold front pushes inland and we could see breezy conditions with gusts over mountains between 25-35 mph during the day and peaking Monday night into early Tuesday with isolated ridges getting between 40-50 mph."

Forecasters said up to an inch of rain could fall in Marin County, San Francisco metro, East Bay and South Bay while for Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey counties the totals will range up to 1.5 inches across the Santa Cruz and Big Sur mountains.

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