The latest in a series of severe winter storms which have been hammering California over the past few days hit Lakeport and surrounding areas in Lake County Wednesday into Thursday. Very heavy snow was expected to continue for the Sierra Nevada and the mountains of northern California according to weather predictions by the National Weather Service which also predicted periods of heavy rain along with elevated flooding concerns would persist for portions of California and Oregon. Additionally, major winter storms are expected to impact the western and central states today and into the weekend.
The NWS reported more than 9.7 inches of total rainfall in northern California since their last calculated precipitation through midnight Wednesday.
One of the biggest storms so far this season, the “atmospheric river” also helped deliver 1 to 3 inches of rain in most Bay Area cities and as much as 10 inches in higher elevations.
According to David Hamrick and meteorologist Amanda Reinhart, precipitation was expected to wind down by Thursday night and into Friday as the frontal system progressed farther inland across the Intermountain West. In addition to the heavy snow, heavy rain fell across the lower elevations, with most of it happening Wednesday into Thursday evening of this week.
A moderate risk of rainfall has been issued for a small area in southern California, particularly where the burn scars exist in the Los Angeles region.
The upper level trough responsible for the ongoing storm over the western U.S. was expected to generate a new surface low over the western High Plains by today and this will be the next big feature to monitor going into the upcoming weekend, the NWS reported. Freezing rain, heavy snow, and heavy rain are expected in association with the storm system through the central and eastern U.S. over the next few days. Some thunderstorms will also be possible across the Gulf Coast region. Heavy snow will begin by this evening over the central plains and then progress eastward by the weekend.
People are advised to consult the WPC winter weather products and discussion for more information on this and future systems. In the wake of the storm, the NWS predicted an arctic surface high will plunge southward from Canada and result in frigid temperatures across the Plains and the Upper Midwest, with temperature departures on the order of 15 to 25 degrees below normal.
Local law agencies were busy with reports of weather related incidents. The Clearlake Police Department logs for Wednesday indicated at least one storm related incident, which occurred at 1:56 p.m at J&L Market on Old Highway 53 where the roadway was flooded and a vehicle stalled in the standing water. This incident was referred to the Public Works Department. Earlier in the day, (10:47 a.m.) dispatch received reports of a tree down across the roadway on Second Ave., which was also referred to Public Works.
“The Lake County Sheriff’s Office advises you to avoid the following locations due to road closures as a result of recent weather activity,” Sheriff Department officials stated via emergency notifications on Thursday noting trees and power lines were down at Highway 175 between Sneed and Emerford Drive, flooding at the 3200 block of Scotts Valley Road, Point Lakeview Road between Lassen Way and Emerald Drive and Soda Bay Road near the Transfer Station among others.
“Please drive with extra caution and be mindful that there is a lot of standing water on the roadways as a result of heavy rain,” officials noted adding that residents can contact the Public Works Department for updated information on road closures for county roads at 707-263-2341. For State Routes and Highways residents are advised to contact CHP 707-467-4000.
Bay Area impacts
The brunt of the storm cleared most of the Bay Area by Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service, but downpours and isolated thunderstorms also continued to wreak havoc, and snow piled up in the Sierra Nevada.
So much snow fell in the mountains that the statewide Sierra Nevada snow pack level — a key source of California’s summer water supply — increased to 103 percent of its historic average on Thursday, up from just 69 percent on New Year’s Day.
But with the bounty of rain and snow came headaches.
A big rig jackknifed on a Concord highway on Thursday morning, rupturing its fuel tank. The crash on Highway 242 near the Grant Street exit caused the California Highway Patrol to shut down all lanes for more than two hours.
The storm Wednesday caused mudslides, power outages and toppled trees, including one that killed a man in Oakland. The man, identified by the coroner’s office as 42-year-old Anthony Rippee, was apparently living in a tent on the hillside below the Ardley Avenue overpass, but it was not immediately known if he was inside the tent or outside when the tree fell on him.
Strong wind gusts associated with the storm were felt across the Bay Area and reached 98 mph at Big Rock Ridge in Marin County, according to the National Weather Service. Many other locations reported gusts over 50 mph.
“The biggest impact, from my perspective, was extremely strong winds,” said Drew Peterson, a meteorologist with the weather service in Monterey. “It’s not every day we put out a high wind warning. We had very strong winds across the area.”
Peterson said he and other colleagues at the weather service office in Monterey were concerned about trees coming down on their homes.
There were several reports of downed trees across the Bay Area, including one that hit a BART train between the Concord and Pleasant Hill stations on the Antioch line.
On Wednesday afternoon, BART closed the Civic Center station in San Francisco because of flooding in the station.
Downed trees and mudslides briefly closed stretches of Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz mountains, and there were widespread reports of flooding across Bay Area roadways.
By Thursday morning at 11 a.m., 48-hour rainfall totals from around the Bay Area — which include the atmospheric river storm Wednesday and another storm before it on Tuesday — showed 2.39 inches in San Francisco, 1.22 inches at San Jose airport, and 2.50 inches in Oakland. Among the wettest locations were Mining Ridge in Big Sur, with 10.16 inches; Pescadero in San Mateo County, with 9.53 inches; Capitola in Santa Cruz County, with 8.96 inches; rural Venado in Sonoma County, with 8.12 inches; the Lexington Hills near Los Gatos, with 7.48 inches; San Rafael with 4.71 inches and Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County, with 4.46 inches.
Those totals represented at least 10 percent — and in some cases, significantly more — of the average annual rainfall for many communities, all in just two days.
“Anytime San Jose gets more than 1 inch, I call that a win for that area,” Peterson said.
The storm resulted in widespread power outages, according to PG&E. At the storm’s peak on Wednesday night, approximately 82,608 customers in the Bay Area lost power “due to outages caused by fallen vegetation, mudslides, floods and other weather-related incidents,” PG&E spokeswoman Mayra Tostado said.
As of noon Thursday, nearly 23,276 PG&E customers were still without power.
PG&E said its crews, including more than 200 linemen, have been “working around-the-clock to restore power to customers impacted by weather-related outages.”
“Due to hazardous conditions last night that involved downed trees, mudslides and closed roads, PG&E crews were not able to access some locations,” Tostado said in an e-mail. “Crews are out in full force this morning working to restore power safely and as quickly as possible.”
The storm also was blanketing the Sierra Nevada with a blizzard that prompted avalanche warnings and was expected to dump several feet feet of snow in the mountains. The National Weather Service warned of “potentially life threatening conditions” above 7,000 feet in elevation, with winds up to 110 mph on ridge tops and high avalanche danger, and urged motorists to avoid mountain roads.
Stephanie Myers, spokeswoman for Northstar Ski Resort, reported 4 feet of new snow since Tuesday. At 8 a.m., many ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada reportedly received 1 to 2 feet of snow in the past 24 hours.
Thursday, the weather service issued a coastal floor advisory for low-lying areas along the immediate coast, bay front, marshes and sloughs, which may experience minor flooding.
Dry weather is expected Friday and Saturday in the Bay area followed by another chance of light rain Sunday, according to the weather service. Dry weather with mild temperatures are expected next week, the weather service said.
Heavy downpours, gusty winds and mountain snow are the expected conditions in many areas. For more details at your location, visit weather.gov/eka for your local forecast and the specifics on any weather hazards.
San Jose Mercury News Staff writer John Woolfolk contributed to this report.
