Atmospheric river storm triggers extreme hurricane-force wind warning; South Bay tornados possible
The latest powerful atmospheric river plowed into California early Sunday, triggering warnings of possible "hurricane-force winds" and tornados in the South Bay and the Big Sur Coast in addition to a flash-flood watch in Monterey County.
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According to warnings issued by the National Weather Service Bay Area office, winds along the Big Sur Coast and higher peaks across the Santa Cruz mountains and the Diablo range hit gusts of around 60 mph.
Tornados possible to south
The Bay Area saw winds ramp up over the course of Sunday, with locations along the Big Sur coast seeing wind gusts of 80 mph with winds as high as 90 mph possible.
Winds around the rest of the Bay Area and Central Coast increased mid morning on Sunday as heavier rain arrives. Gusts as high as 80 mph are expected at higher elevations with some gusts to 70 mph possible at the surface, especially along coastal areas through the afternoon.
Widespread power outages were still reported as of 10 p.m. Sunday across the Bay Area, although some areas were slowly being restored.
At 10 o'clock there were still 321,748 PG&E customers without power.
The South Bay continued to lead the way in outages, at 106,926 customers, down from 139,692 at 7 p.m.
North Bay outages were affecting 83,797 customers, down from 94,201 at 7 p.m., followed by the Peninsula with 73,772 customers, down from 81,647 at 7 p.m. The East Bay was experiencing outages to 35,994 customers, down from 53,975 at 7 p.m.
San Francisco has seen an increase of outages, from 20,031 customers at 7 p.m. to 21,259 at 10 p.m.
Outages peaked at 7 p.m. with 389,546 customers without power across the Bay Area.If residents see a downed power line, they should assume it is live and stay away.
Isolated severe thunderstorms are possible Sunday afternoon into the early evening, with the best chance of occurrence in the South Bay and along the Central Coast where locally damaging wind gusts and a tornado are a possibility, though probability for a tornado is low.
There were also Sunday afternoon advisories issued for possible hail in the North Bay and the South Bay.
Increased chance of flooding
In addition to the strong, potentially damaging wind, the steady rain overnight will make the flooding of roads, streams, and poorly draining areas likely. The entire Bay Area remains under a flood watch, with a new flash flood watch issued Sunday for the River Burn Area in Monterey County. Shallow mud slides will be possible as the near surface soil is already saturated, with debris flow and slides being a concern within there.
Evacuation warnings were issued by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office Saturday for areas of Carmel Valley and Salinas ahead of the storm's arrival.
The evacuation warnings went out at 1 p.m. Saturday and will stay in effect until further notice, the sheriff's office said.
The Carmel Valley area include Paso Honda, Camp Steffani and areas near Schulte Road. The Carmel River is expected to reach flood stage on Sunday, according to the sheriff's office.
A flood warning was also issued Sunday morning for the San Lorenzo River area in Santa Cruz County.
Smaller streams already saw overnight rises ahead of the main rain band.
The heavy rain may cause area rivers to rise rapidly, with some reaching flood stage as early as Sunday morning, the National Weather Service said Saturday.
- The Guadalupe River at the Almaden Expressway is expected to reach 11.6 feet, considered moderate flood stage, by mid-morning Sunday.
- The San Lorenzo River at Big Trees is forecast to reach 19.7 feet, considered moderate flood stage, by early afternoon Sunday.
- The Carmel River at Robles Del Rio will reach 10.5 feet, just below moderate flood stage, by Sunday evening.
- The Pajaro River at Chittenden should reach 22.6 feet, the monitor stage, by Monday afternoon.
San Jose officials proclaimed a local emergency Saturday night due to the forecast heavy rain increasing the chance of flooding. Homeless people living along the Guadalupe River were ordered to evacuate, the city said in a report on preparations for the arrival of the atmospheric river.
Other unhoused people may receive a free ride to a shelter at Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St. An additional shelter is being prepared at Camden Community Center.
The combination of heavy rain and dangerous winds will make for a hazardous day across Northern and Southern California with localized urban flooding, reduced visibility from blowing rain, and downed trees along with wind debris expected.
Forecasted rain totals
Through Monday afternoon, forecasted rain totals will be at around two to three inches for the Santa Clara Valley and the interior East Bay with a potential for lesser rainfall in the rain shadowed valleys. San Francisco, Oakland, the East Bay Hills, lower elevations of San Mateo County, the interior North Bay and interior Monterey County will see in the range of 2.5 to 3.5 inches.
Higher rainfall total are expected in Santa Cruz County and higher elevations of the North Bay, with that area seeing up to five inches of rain. The highest peaks of the Santa Cruz mountains, the Santa Lucias and Big Sur Coast will get between five and seven inches of rain with the highest peaks of the Big Sur Coast likely getting more than seven inches.