San Francisco braces for catastrophic storm that meteorologist says will be ‘the most impactful’

San Francisco is bracing for another catastrophic storm that will be its ‘most impactful’ yet after it was inundated with massive flooding and mudslides last week.

As the Pineapple Express, a strong atmospheric storm forming in the Pacific Northwest, prepares to hit California, the state is still reeling from the storm that hit on New Year’s Eve.

“This will probably be one of the most powerful large-scale systems this meteorologist has seen in a long time,” the Bay Area office of the National Weather Service said. “This is really a brutal system that we are looking at and it needs to be taken seriously.

“Impacts will include widespread flooding, road washout, hillside collapse, tree fall (potentially filled groves), widespread power outages, immediate disruption to business, and worst of all, potential loss of life.”

First responders respond to a call in Tustin from a group of adults who were stranded in a submerged vehicle over the weekend. Two people have already died in the storm that took place on New Year’s Eve and more are expected to happen as the new storm approaches.

Fifteen million people are preparing to face the next storm that is expected to hit Wednesday afternoon, from California to Wisconsin.

Every area in the Bay Area is currently under a flood warning until 4:00 p.m. Thursday, when the massive storm approaches the West Coast.

However, most of the bomb cyclone will occur in the middle of the ocean.

“In this case, this is going to bombard over the open ocean,” Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, told San Francisco Chronicle.

Even though the storm took place mostly 500 miles offshore, the effects on San Francisco could be devastating after it already suffered devastating flooding over the weekend, nearly 20,000 Californians remain without power and at least two died.

The San Francisco Fire Department said it received “double” the number of calls it normally receives over the holiday weekend as a storm drenched the drought-stricken state.

“The San Francisco Fire Department received nearly 800 calls for service in a 24-hour period during this latest storm, that’s about double what we normally receive,” Chief Jeanine Nicholson said in a statement. Press conference on Tuesday. Although he said the department is “prepared for a disaster.”

San Francisco has already experienced massive flooding after receiving nearly 5.5 inches of rain over New Year’s Eve.

San Francisco is bracing for two to three more inches of rain and could see wind gusts of up to 50 mph on top of the flooding it’s already experienced.

Business owners work to waterproof a restaurant ahead of the storm in San Francisco

“It’s what we do, but we could really use some help from the public,” he said. ‘Please stay home and have your flashlights [ready] and if you have generators, have fuel in them so you can take care of yourselves and your family and not have to go out on this and then have to call 911.’

He also advised the public to only call 911 for “life-threatening emergencies” and to call 311 with all other concerns.

‘We still have to execute all of our critical 911 calls, whether it’s cardiac arrest, a car accident or a fire. And if you add all the flooding problems we had earlier this week, it can really overload the system,” the chief said at a news conference on Tuesday. “So again, if you have a little bit of flooding in your home, call 311. If someone is having a heart attack, if someone is being washed away, call 911.

The city’s mayor, London Breed, who was heavily criticized for “wake-up” policies last year, also called heavy rain and flooding over the weekend “unprecedented” and said more than 8,500 have already been delivered. sandbags to residents.

A man in San Francisco moved on a raft when high water levels prevented him from driving after the storm hit on New Years.

The tunnel leading to the Golden Gate Bridge was flooded as drivers tried to get home safely over the weekend.

The entire Bay Area is under a flood warning, and as the storm continues to move east, the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada could see snow.

San Francisco is bracing for two to three more inches of rain and could see wind gusts up to 50 mph.

“I just want to tell the public to use 911 wisely. We will have a lot of emergencies to respond to as well,’ Breed said. “We want to make sure that 911 is used only as a life and death tool.”

Videos scattered online have already shown the coastal town badly affected by flooding, with some residents creating rafts to move around as floodwater dominates the streets.

KRON 4 Meteorologist John Shrable shared a video of a man flooding a white raft through the streets where the cars were stranded. Water levels reached more than half as many cars after the city received nearly 5.5 inches of rain on New Year’s Eve, narrowly missing the 1994 record of 5.54 inches.

Roads flooded on Monday, leaving many highway travelers completely stranded as some filmed out the window, with water levels almost reaching them.

The water level of the San Anselmo creek was so high that it almost reached the level of the bridge.

Another driver showed the Golden Gate Bridge tunnel in heavy flooding as frightened drivers tried to force their way through it.

A landslide also appeared in Bernal Heights in San Francisco (pictured) after heavy rain over the weekend.

The area could experience more dangerous landslides as more rain falls.

Joey Fortman, a local reporter, was trying to drive through the tunnel when he filmed a video. She said, ‘No sh*t… this is not good. This is a bit scary actually. This is the tunnel on your way to Golden Gate, this is crazy.

A green area in Bernal Heights in San Francisco had a small mudslide where a small wooden fence collapsed from the weight of the mud that slid over it as it flooded the road. Ben Lomond Park was also badly flooded.

“Flooding, debris flows, erosion that has occurred, mudslides on roads, and this upcoming system could have an even stronger impact,” Shrable said.

Two people also died in California over the weekend. One person in Sacramento County died in a submerged vehicle, while a 72-year-old man was struck by a fallen tree at a Santa Cruz state park.

Emergency crews in Sacramento also had to rescue residents by helicopter as many roads and highways closed due to flooding.

In addition, the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center had to evict all its inmates. All 1,075 inmates were safely evacuated from the facility due to a flood warning. It is unclear when the inmates, who have been transferred to other facilities, will return.

As the storm continues to move, the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada could see up to two feet of snow by Monday night.