Biden to Visit Devastated Areas of California on Thursday

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden will travel to California's central coast Thursday to visit areas that have been devastated by extreme weather.

The White House said in a statement Monday that the president would visit with first responders and state and local officials, survey recovery efforts and assess what additional federal support is needed.

The president's trip was announced as the ninth atmospheric river in a three-week series of major winter storms was churning through California.

The storms have dumped rain and snow on California since late December, cutting power to thousands, swamping roads, toppling trees, unleashing debris flows and triggering landslides. Monday's system was relatively weak compared with earlier storms, but flooding and mudslide risks remained because the state was so saturated, forecasters said.