OAKLAND, Calif. - A potent atmospheric river barreled through the Bay Area, bringing high winds that knocked out power and flash floods that caused evacuations from wildfire burn scars. Plus, heavy snow caused blizzard conditions in the Sierra Nevada.
However, despite all the worry, there was no major damage, other than a few trees coming down and disruptions to people's lives because the power went out.
Thousands of residents in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties were hit the hardest as they live in areas by a complex of wildfires ignited by lightning last August. The state Office of Emergency Services positioned strike teams and task forces in five counties. Officials feared the heavy rains would cause mudslides. However, by Wednesday morning, there were no immediate reports of damage.
Before the storm hit, deputies went door-to-door in the evacuation zones and tried to find people staying in evacuation areas who may not have access to phone service and emergency notifications. Those residents who didn’t evacuate were asked by deputies to sign a refusal waiver, officials said.
People in
San Jose's Willow Glen were worried about flooding along the Guadalupe River, too. City crews braced for a busy night. They staffed up overnight to respond to downed trees, downed power lines and localized flooding. Residents went out to get sand bags.
City workers spent most of Tuesday evening going door-to-door, alerting hundreds of residents living near the river of possible rising waters. However, by Wednesday morning, there was no immediate word of any damage or flooding reported.
In San Franciso, there was standing water on many of the streets including Gough Street heading toward the freeway.
In the North Bay, residents also braced for the worst as heavy wind and rain, brought on by a winter storm, swept through the area. And the National Weather Service upgraded a flash flood watch to a warning as the atmospheric river arrived.
The wind knocked down a tree in Rohnert Park, causing some localized damaged there.
In the end, the wind proved to be more powerful than the rain. Power was knocked out to a peak of 38,000 PG&E numbers. However, by Wednesday morning, t
hat number dropped to 27,000 customers.
The atmospheric river — a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific — was preceded by lighter rain before intensifying Tuesday evening, hitting the North Bay first, then spreading south to Santa Cruz, Monterey and Big Sur. Rare snow was reported in Sonoma and Napa counties north of San Francisco at elevations as low as 1,300 feet.
The National Weather Service issued a rare blizzard warning for Lake Tahoe and much of the Sierra, forecasting up to 6 feet of snow falling on upper elevations and winds in excess of 100 mph over ridgetops.
Describing it as a potential "life-threatening situation," the warning was to be in effect from 10 p.m. Tuesday through 4 a.m. Friday for the Tahoe area as far south as Mammoth Lakes, California.
A warning was also issued for widespread high avalanche danger on the eastern slopes of the Sierra because of heavy snow combining with wind from before dawn Wednesday through Friday morning.
Meanwhile, icy conditions in mountains north of Los Angeles shut vital Interstate 5 in Tejon Pass until early afternoon. Some truckers tried old narrow mountain roads around the closure and became stuck. In the same region, State Route 58 in Tehachapi Pass reopened at late morning after an overnight closure.
In the Sierra Nevada, the closure of Yosemite National Park was extended to at least Jan. 30. The park sustained heavy damage more than a week ago when it was battered by fierce winds that swept through California before the onset of the current storms.
While the upcoming storm could pose danger, it could help ease dry conditions that have left more than 95% of California experiencing drought.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
