The latest powerful atmospheric river to drench California put nearly 27,000 people under evacuation orders on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, due to flooding and landslide risks. On the central coast, workers hauled truckloads of rocks to plug a broken river levee amid steady rain and wind.

The number wintering along California's central coast is bouncing back after the population, whose presence is often a good indicator of ecosystem health, reached an all-time low last year.