SAN FRANCISCO– The latest in a series of wet winter storms blew ashore in Northern California on Sunday, with forecasters warning of possible flooding, hail, high winds and even brief tornadoes as the system moves south in the coming days.
Wind gusts reached 30 mph (48 kph) in Oakland and San Jose, while a mild cold front late Saturday gave way to a more powerful storm that will gain strength through early Monday, National Weather Service meteorologist Brayden Murdock said. office in San Francisco.
“The wind is here and getting stronger, and the rain will soon follow,” he said Sunday afternoon.
California’s central coast is at risk of “significant flooding,” with up to 5 inches of rain forecast in many areas, according to the weather service. Isolated rain totals of 10 inches are possible in the Santa Lucia and Santa Ynez mountain ranges as the storm moves toward greater Los Angeles.
Thunderstorms in the valleys around the state capital on Monday could produce “brief tornadoes, large amounts of small hail, heavy rain, lightning and gusty winds,” the weather service office in Sacramento warned on X, formerly Twitter.
The latest storm is expected to move faster than the devastating atmospheric river that parked itself over Southern California earlier this month, turning roads into rivers, causing hundreds of landslides and killing at least nine people.
“It’s not the ideal setup for an atmospheric river, but it does have some features,” including a band of subtropical moisture that brings the tail of the storm forward, Murdock said. “Otherwise it’s just a cold front.”
But it’s a cold front strong enough to cause problems including flash flooding and power outages, forecasters said. Flood warnings and warnings were issued in coastal and mountain areas across the state.
Even in the mountains there will be a lot of rain, but several meters of snow is possible at elevations above 2,070 meters in the Sierra Nevada, the weather service said. Motorists are urged to avoid mountain routes.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services activated its operations center on Saturday, positioning personnel and equipment in areas most at risk.