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Hundreds of thousands of Californians were left without power Sunday, another result of storms that have caused deadly flooding in recent weeks and are expected to hit the state even more in the coming days.
Rain and snow continued Sunday morning from the atmospheric river that arrived Saturday and brought its heaviest weather Saturday night. It unleashed high winds that contributed to more than half a million customers without power early Sunday, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, about 4 percent of the 13.1 million California customers that they monitor public services. By noon Pacific time, the number of outages had dropped to about 360,000.
Most of the outages were reported in Sacramento County, where strong winds knocked down trees and power lines. Sacramento International Airport reported a gust of 70 mph.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District tweeted that it was “working as safely and quickly as possible to restore power.”
Sacramento County was urging people to flee the Wilton area due to “imminent” flooding Sunday morning.
In the Bay Area, Mines Tower in Alameda, at an elevation of 2,932 feet, recorded a gust of 99 mph, while a gust at the Richardson East weather station, at an elevation of 1,109 feet, reached at 85 mph.
South of San Francisco, in Santa Cruz, Mayor Fred Keeley (D) said city workers are in emergency mode and ready for water rescues, but he is more concerned about maintaining the operational infrastructure, including sewerage, drains and canals. He said in an interview that Santa Cruz is willing to use a National Guard arsenal to house up to 500 people experiencing homelessness and to provide tents for those who prefer to live outside.
Keeley said her city and state have a “front row seat to climate change” and the devastation it brings.
The state has responded as well as it can, he said, but Washington hasn’t caught up.
“They’re behind as usual,” Keeley said. “The federal government is stuck in what I would call the old-school FEMA response to things instead of getting the Army Corps of Engineers together and starting to look forward about what we need to do.”
FEMA did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment.
Michael Anderson, state climatologist for the California Department of Water Resources, said during a briefing Saturday that the series of storms began Dec. 27 and is expected to continue through Jan. 19. The storm forecast for Monday and Tuesday is the second of five, he said. , “and also what has our biggest concerns right now.”
Forecast models disagree about the strength and location of the third, fourth and fifth storms, Anderson said. “But,” he added, “we have an indication that something is up.”
Like its predecessors, the coming storm is an intense atmospheric river, or a band of deep tropical moisture. It is expected to flood low-lying areas of the region, surf beaches and bring heavy snow and winds of more than 100 mph near mountaintops.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) scheduled a news conference at 1 p.m. PT to discuss the storm, according to his office.
Severe flooding hits a California beach town and the pier splits in half
The National Weather Service asked residents to follow local forecasts, avoid driving on flooded roads and have an emergency evacuation kit and plan ready.
“The longevity and intensity of the rainfall, combined with the cumulative effect of successive heavy rainfall events dating back to late December, will result in widespread and potentially significant flooding impacts,” the Weather Service wrote in a discussion Sunday .
In California’s Central Valley and near the coast, 2 to 4 inches of rain is likely, while up to 9 inches could fall in the foothills through Wednesday. Flood watches are plastered across much of central and northern California, along with wind advisories warning of gusts in excess of 40 to 50 mph.
The state has been inundated with rains for the past few weeks. An atmospheric river drenched northern and central California on New Year’s Eve, knocking out power and stranding some people in flooded cars.
In 13 days, San Francisco has accumulated 11.16 inches, the wettest stretch the city has recorded since 1871. On December 31 alone, 5.46 inches of rain fell, the second wettest natural day on record since started accounting in 1849.
“All main stem rivers are expected to be near or above flood stage by Monday afternoon or evening,” the Bay Area office wrote. Some rivers could reach record levels.
Photos: A bomb cyclone and an atmospheric river hammer in California
The National Weather Service’s precipitation forecasting center wrote that some areas could see amounts that occur once every five to 10 years on average. A large area of central and northern California has a 40 to 70 percent chance of flash flooding within 25 miles of any location.
Winter storm warnings are in effect for the Sierra Nevada, where snow accumulations of 3 to 6 feet are expected Monday through Tuesday above 6,000 feet. Winds of 80 mph are also likely, and gusts of 100 to 130 mph cannot be ruled out in the mountain range.
Below 7,000 feet, the precipitation will start as snow and then change to rain, causing the snowpack to become laden with water, increasing the risk of avalanches. Amid a lull in precipitation intensity Monday night, temperatures will cool and the elevation at which it is below freezing will drop as another batch of precipitation arrives Tuesday morning.
According to the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, “widespread avalanche activity in the mountains” is expected. “Large, destructive avalanches could occur in several areas.”
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Weather models indicate the possibility of a few lightning strikes Monday night, which could lead to snowfall, posing a hazard to skiers and increasing snowfall rates. Accumulations of more than 5 inches per hour cannot be ruled out during the peak of the storm.
Anderson, the climatologist, said the rain that has fallen on California in the past week makes for “some pretty amazing numbers.”
“That maybe month impressive are the next six days,” he said. “Look at these numbers, as big as what we’ve had, and this relentless pace of storms, and some really big numbers.”