http://www.newsweek.com/newsweek-com-california-flooding-deluge-snakes-rain-rattlesnakes-1772899

As torrential rainfall continues to batter the West coast, you may be wondering how all of this wet weather is affecting California's wildlife. In Australia at the end of last year, heavy rain and floods caused snake sightings to soar across the country—could the same thing happen in California?

"Rapidly rising flood water from heavy rain can displace wildlife, including rattlesnakes," Bryan Hughes, owner of Arizona-based snake rescue service Rattlesnake Solutions, told Newsweek. "This can mean that in some areas, there will be a temporary increase of the likelihood of random encounters."