Thousands Without Power in Central California Following Atmospheric River

5 Jan 2023, 8:10 pm

A powerful “bomb cyclone” is lashing California with tropical-storm-force winds and unleashing a fire hose of moisture known as an “Atmospheric River” on the state. A STATE OF EMERGENCY has been declared in California as a result of the storm and emergency operations centers are running at their highest levels. A bomb cyclone is when a storm drops 24mb of pressure in 24 hours – this storm officially did so over the Pacific Ocean through the past day. An Atmospheric River is a concentrated plume of moisture that moves around an area of low pressure and can result in torrential rainfall, snow, and wind. The coastline has taken the brunt of the storm, with multiple piers crashing into the ocean as a result of strong winds causing large waves and swells.

Another pier completely destroyed in Santa Cruz because of the high surf & waves. Stay away from the ocean waters until things calm – debris will be washing up onshore in the immediate area #CAwx pic.twitter.com/KFYjcI4Lhh

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) January 5, 2023

Rain

Widespread flood alerts remain in effect through Friday morning. Please do not drive through flooded roadways! In addition, burn scar areas are at risk for debris flows, assess your risk and please have multiple ways to get alerts. Evacuations are in place around recent burn scars and along the coastline due to the risk of mudslides. The city of San Francisco is asking people to NOT call 911 unless it is an absolute emergency. They anticipate this storm system to have multiple threats and the need to respond. If you need to report a flood issue, call 311. Additional rainfall totals will be in the range of 1-2″ through Friday morning.

Snowfall

In addition to flood alerts, the National Weather Service office has issued Winter Storm Warnings through Friday morning as storm totals will be likely of up to 4 feet possible with wind gusts as high as 60 mph, although the worst of the wind is now behind us. Additionally, avalanche warnings are in effect for the Sierras as heavy snow will compound the risk of weak slopes.

We will finally see the rain and snow showers gradually taper off overnight but lingering effects from the heavy precipitation are still possible. Use extra caution on the roads and watch for ponding of water or debris. Rivers, creeks and streams will be running very high as water continues to drain.

Tune in to the Western Regional forecast at :50 past the hour, or catch it on demand anytime via the WeatherNation app!

About the author

Cassie Nall

Cassie Nall was born and raised on the west coast of Florida near St. Petersburg. She's always loved being outside and her interest in Earth sciences started at a young age. After graduating high school, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University (go Noles!) and worked for the Florida Division of Emergency Management as a state meteorologist. Her first on-air pos... Load Moreition was in Sarasota, Florida at WSNN, where she spent four years waking up at 2 a.m. for the morning shift. The alarm was finally able to be set for later in the morning when she moved to Knoxville, Tennessee as the weekend evening meteorologist and fill-in for the chief at WBIR. From large wildfires and historic flooding to severe weather and snow, she was able to cover just about every type of weather while in East Tennessee. Cassie is excited to be a part of the WeatherNation team and looks forward to sharing weather stories from around the country!