A massive bomb cyclone and atmospheric river slammed into Northern California on Sunday, bringing flash floods and debris flows along the burn scars from this summer’s fires. As of late morning, the National Weather Service in Seattle said thunderstorms are moving northeast and could bring downpours, hail and gusty winds.
The core of the storm was approaching the Pacific Northwest late Sunday morning.
Here is a satellite view of the storm this morning. Heavy rain continues to fall over much of #NorCal, and more is on the way. Stay home if you can, and if not, make sure to drive with caution! #CAwx #CArain
Latest forecast:https://t.co/WG3YJAsHZr pic.twitter.com/WkmlYn1YnL
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) October 24, 2021
Winds blew through the Bay Area at more than 50 mph, and in the Marin County community of Karin, more than 7 inches of rain fell at 8:30 a.m. PT, CBS San Francisco reported.
The atmospheric river — a band carrying more water vapor than the surrounding air — has been elevated to a Category 5, the highest designation on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Extreme Weather Lab scale.
There were evacuation orders issued for hundreds of homes in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burn scar zone in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Debris and ash leftover from fires can cause mudslides, or lead to severe flooding.
There were at least two evacuation centers set up in Sacramento on Sunday.
Caltrans, the state’s highway system, tweeted that there had already been “flooding, rock slides, chain controls, overturned vehicles” on Sunday morning.
The National Weather Service retweeted photos of a landslide along Highway 70 near Tobin, California. There were other road closures as well from flash floods, rock slides and downed trees.
The storm arrived earlier than expected and rainfall is expected to continue until Tuesday. Sunday is supposed to be the worst of the storm.
Hundreds of thousands without power on West Coast
More than 168,000 people in California were without power Sunday along with nearly 172,000 in Washington state and more than 30,000 in Oregon, according to Poweroutage.us.
Utility company PG&E said as of 2:15 p.m. PT more than 130,000 customers were without power in the Bay Area, including 50,576 in the North Bay, 43,556 on the Peninsula, 21,773 in the East Bay, 7,523 in the South Bay and 7,234 in San Francisco, CBS San Francisco reports.
Storm creates eerie hum on Golden Gate Bridge
High winds rushing through a handrail on the Golden Gate Bridge have created an eerie hum that can be heard for miles, CBS San Francisco reports. The handrail was retrofitted last year. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of up to 70 mph on peaks and 40-50 mph in low-lying areas as Sunday’s storm hit the region.
Evacuations ordered for fire-ravaged area hit by heavy rainfall
The Fresno Sheriff’s office issued evacuation orders Sunday for Shaver Lake, part of the burn area for the Creek Fire. The rest of the burn area was under an evacuation warning.
@FresnoSheriff @FresnoCountyCA & @NWSWPC have consulted & decided to place the entire Creek Fire burn scar area into evacuation warning status. An evacuation order has been issued for Big Creek Canyon from below Big Creek to the San Joaquin River.https://t.co/Bz74Jh0f3P pic.twitter.com/7rn1fQbLDr
— Fresno Co Sheriff (@FresnoSheriff) October 24, 2021
9 inches of rain deluge one Bay Area town
The heaviest-hit town in the Bay Area was Kentfield in Marin County, which saw 9 inches of rainfall as of noon local time, reports CBS San Francisco. The National Weather Service predicted the area would get between 1 and 2 more inches of rain Sunday afternoon. Other areas of the North Bay, such as Napa and Santa Rosa, received more than 4 inches, reported meteorologist Darren Peck on CBSN Bay Area.
PG&E reports heavy outages
Utility service PG&E reported heavy outages late Sunday morning, with more than 40,000 without power in the north Bay Area in the counties of Marin and Sonoma. The North Valley division also had more than 10,000 customers impacted.
Outlaw Music Festival music festival in Sacramento is canceled
The Outlaw Music Festival in Wheatland at the Toyota Amphitheater, with Willie Nelson scheduled to perform, was canceled Sunday as the area was lashed by the massive storm.
Organizers said in a statement tickets were being refunded and the concert was unlikely to be rescheduled.
The Ironman triathlon was also canceled on Sunday.
A massive bomb cyclone and atmospheric river slammed into Northern California on Sunday, bringing flash floods and debris flows along the burn scars from this summer’s fires. As of late morning, the National Weather Service in Seattle said thunderstorms are moving northeast and could bring downpours, hail and gusty winds. The core of the storm was approaching the Pacific Northwest late Sunday morning. Here is a satellite view of the storm this morning. Heavy rain continues to fall over much of #NorCal, and more is on the way. Stay home if you can, and if not, make sure to drive with caution! #CAwx #CArain Latest forecast:https://t.co/WG3YJAsHZr pic.twitter.com/WkmlYn1YnL— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) October 24, 2021 Winds blew through the Bay Area at more than 50 mph, and in the Marin County community of Karin, more than 7 inches of rain fell at 8:30 a.m. PT, CBS San Francisco reported.The atmospheric river — a band carrying more water vapor than the surrounding air — has been elevated to a Category 5, the highest designation on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Extreme Weather Lab scale.There were evacuation orders issued for hundreds of homes in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burn scar zone in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Debris and ash leftover from fires can cause mudslides, or lead to severe flooding. There were at least two evacuation centers set up in Sacramento on Sunday.Caltrans, the state’s highway system, tweeted that there had already been “flooding, rock slides, chain controls, overturned vehicles” on Sunday morning.The National Weather Service retweeted photos of a landslide along Highway 70 near Tobin, California. There were other road closures as well from flash floods, rock slides and downed trees. The storm arrived earlier than expected and rainfall is expected to continue until Tuesday. Sunday is supposed to be the worst of the storm. 14m ago Hundreds of thousands without power on West Coast More than 168,000 people in California were without power Sunday along with nearly 172,000 in Washington state and more than 30,000 in Oregon, according to Poweroutage.us.Utility company PG&E said as of 2:15 p.m. PT more than 130,000 customers were without power in the Bay Area, including 50,576 in the North Bay, 43,556 on the Peninsula, 21,773 in the East Bay, 7,523 in the South Bay and 7,234 in San Francisco, CBS San Francisco reports. Updated 24m ago Storm creates eerie hum on Golden Gate Bridge High winds rushing through a handrail on the Golden Gate Bridge have created an eerie hum that can be heard for miles, CBS San Francisco reports. The handrail was retrofitted last year. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of up to 70 mph on peaks and 40-50 mph in low-lying areas as Sunday’s storm hit the region. 5:53 PM Evacuations ordered for fire-ravaged area hit by heavy rainfall The Fresno Sheriff’s office issued evacuation orders Sunday for Shaver Lake, part of the burn area for the Creek Fire. The rest of the burn area was under an evacuation warning. @FresnoSheriff @FresnoCountyCA & @NWSWPC have consulted & decided to place the entire Creek Fire burn scar area into evacuation warning status. An evacuation order has been issued for Big Creek Canyon from below Big Creek to the San Joaquin River.https://t.co/Bz74Jh0f3P pic.twitter.com/7rn1fQbLDr— Fresno Co Sheriff (@FresnoSheriff) October 24, 2021 4:46 PM 9 inches of rain deluge one Bay Area town The heaviest-hit town in the Bay Area was Kentfield in Marin County, which saw 9 inches of rainfall as of noon local time, reports CBS San Francisco. The National Weather Service predicted the area would get between 1 and 2 more inches of rain Sunday afternoon. Other areas of the North Bay, such as Napa and Santa Rosa, received more than 4 inches, reported meteorologist Darren Peck on CBSN Bay Area. 3:35 PM PG&E reports heavy outages Utility service PG&E reported heavy outages late Sunday morning, with more than 40,000 without power in the north Bay Area in the counties of Marin and Sonoma. The North Valley division also had more than 10,000 customers impacted. 3:35 PM Outlaw Music Festival music festival in Sacramento is canceled The Outlaw Music Festival in Wheatland at the Toyota Amphitheater, with Willie Nelson scheduled to perform, was canceled Sunday as the area was lashed by the massive storm. Organizers said in a statement tickets were being refunded and the concert was unlikely to be rescheduled.The Ironman triathlon was also canceled on Sunday.