SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The latest powerful winter storm hit Northern California, leaving more than 375,000 customers without power, increasing the risk of flooding and causing high winds to knock down trees.
According to the National Weather Service, gusts of wind exceeding 60 miles per hour in parts of the Sacramento area caused significant power loss. Utilities officials are working to restore power, but say it will take time.
With 130,000 customers without electricity, Pacific Gas & Electric has deployed a crew of 4,000 dedicated to storm recovery. This includes employees, contractors and mutual aid from Southern California and as far away as Wyoming and Canada.
PG&E spokeswoman Tracy Correa-Lopez said, “We’ve been hit by storm after storm.” “Flooding is a problem. The biggest problem right now is access to many of these areas.”
Correa-Lopez said flooding, fallen trees, and unstable soil causing rockfalls and debris flows are all likely to pose a hazard to crew members trying to gain access to restore power.
The NWS urged residents to take precautions and stock up on items as heavy winds continue into Sunday night. .
Weather forecasters warned of a “relentless parade of cyclones” coming from the Pacific toward California, and flooding risks were expected to rise in parts of the state this week. Flood watch is in effect for Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys and nearby hills until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The first of five approaching atmospheric rivers (storm streams that will last until about January 19) arrived this weekend. Heavy rains and mountain snow began in Northern California late Friday night and spread to Central California on Saturday, with more than a foot of snow expected in parts of the state by early Sunday morning.
In Sacramento, officials are gearing up for an onslaught of two to four inches on Monday.
City weather shelter services will be extended through January 12 to prepare for more storms hitting the area.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a prepared statement that the storm system brought significant wind and rain, causing fallen trees throughout the city.
“We are preparing for the next wave of the storm and are urging everyone still outdoors to go to a rest center or at least to higher ground away from trees and bodies of water,” he said. rice field.
Officials in Sacramento said they had received nearly 700 reports of debris, fallen and uprooted trees blocking roads since the heavy rains on New Year’s Eve.
More than 200 reports had been processed as of Friday, with officials saying urban forestry experts and more cranes are needed to handle the backlog.
“City officials are well prepared for this challenge and have removed hundreds of trees and thousands of storm drains,” Steinberg said. and arranged a shuttle to transport them.”
San Jose officials are gearing up for the worst floods to hit the San Francisco Bay Area’s most populous city since sudden Coyote Creek floods forced more than 14,000 residents through downtown San Jose in 2017. was Houses were flooded and hundreds of houses were flooded.
The National Weather Service warned that moderate flooding could hit San Jose starting Monday morning.
At the same time, San Jose’s Guadalupe River on the Almaden highway exceeded a minor flood level of 9.5 feet and was expected to reach a moderate flood level of 11.5 feet by the afternoon. River water is 9.5 feet and is expected to “overflow to Elks Lodge from the upper Alma Avenue Bridge” just south of Tamian Station on the Caltrain Commuter Rail System.
At 11.5 feet, water runs north along Lelong Street, flooding the Highway 87 and Alma Avenue viaducts and threatening facilities in San Jose’s Northern Cross neighborhood.
San Jose officials on Sunday planned to send workers to deliver evacuation orders to homeless residents along the Guadalupe, Coyote and Penitencia rivers.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District was monitoring potential flooding in the following locations: Ross Creek on Cherry Avenue. Upper Penitencia Creek on Mabry Road and King Road. Berryessa Road; Upper Penitencia District; Guadalupe River on West Alma Street. Canoas Creek in the Nightingale District and Santa Teresa Boulevard.
“Threats to life are likely to occur during these storms,” the Japan Meteorological Agency said in a bulletin. Rapid surges and flooding of main streams are expected, and periods of high winds with gusts of 40 to 60 miles per hour (possibly higher in the mountains) can lead to downed trees and power outages.”
The National Weather Service has warned that it is monitoring many rivers for possible flooding, including the Russian River and Geyserville in Sonoma County, Guerneville, which are expected to reach a moderate flood stage. Mark West Creek near the community of Mirabell Heights. Laguna de Santa Rosa on Stony Point Road west of Rohnert Park.
Other waterways of concern include Alameda Creek in northeast Fremont and the hills east of the city. Pacheco Creek southeast of Gilroy. The San Lorenzo River north of Santa Cruz. Pajarro River and Corralitos Creek near Watsonville in Santa Cruz County. and the Salinas River south of Salinas. The Carmel River along the Carmel Valley. Big Sur River; Arroyo Seco, south of Soledad;
In Mendocino County, the Navarro and Garcia rivers are already flooding highways. The Eel River near Arcata in Humboldt County is closely monitored. Flooding is expected in the Central Valley on the Kosmnes, Mokelamune, and Tuolumne rivers. Bear Creek, which bisects Merced, could reach record flood levels of 27.1 feet by Tuesday morning. The record is 24.65 feet for him in 2006.
The Monterey Weather Service will be open from 4 p.m. Saturday through Tuesday in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Monterey, Big Sur, Carmel Valley, San Benito County, Pinnacles National Park, Los Padres National Forest, and much of Central California.
In the Sacramento Valley, the weather system expects 0.5 to 2 inches of rain, with winds reaching 50 miles per hour and a possible thunderstorm that tapers off Sunday afternoon, the Sacramento National Weather Service said. says Katrina Hand, a meteorologist at .
“Monday and Tuesday were the second of five more storms and are currently the most worrying,” said Michael Anderson, a climate scientist with the Department of Water Resources, at a briefing Saturday night. It’s also a storm,” Anderson said.
A “warmer, wetter and stronger” storm arriving Monday was predicted to bring 2 to 4 inches of rain in the Sacramento Valley and 3 to 7 inches in the hills and mountains, Hand said.
Hand said the system was “particularly concerning.” The Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood warnings for much of the Northern California area that will last through Wednesday afternoon, she said. .
Hand said heavy snowfall in the Sierra from Saturday night combined with strong southerly winds could result in a “near whiteout” of the mountains.
Trees continued to fall in the Bay Area on Saturday.In Castro Valley, a large eucalyptus tree fell on a house, trapping one inside. Firefighters said the man was taken to hospital for treatment. Two adults and four children were evacuated due to fallen trees.
In Menlo Park, San Mateo County, whose southern border with Palo Alto is San Francisquito Creek, city officials have roped the creek embankment due to reports of unstable soil. “Remember that trees are more likely to fall when the soil becomes saturated,” officials said.
Meanwhile, Santa Cruz County was reeling from last week’s storm damage.
Cleanup efforts continue in Capitola, a small town of about 10,000 on the north shore of Monterey Bay. Early county estimates put the damage already in the millions, including his $10 million to his $15 million at Capitol Pier, and many locals said the expected rainfall would increase. I’m afraid the toll will get worse.
Santa Cruz County officials aren’t just watching waves crashing into coastal areas, they’re also paying attention to the saturation of mountain soils.
Then there is the river swollen by the rain. These rivers usually flow downstream into the sea. But given the magnitude of the storm surge, water is being pushed back to escape, flooding streams and low-lying areas along rivers, said county deputy administrator Melodye Serino.
She said residents are assessing and preparing for these weather lulls. is difficult.
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