A “cyclone bomb” swept through California on Wednesday, bringing high winds and torrential rain that could cause flooding in several areas where the ground is already saturated with water from other recent storms.
Northern California, particularly around San Francisco and Sacramento, is the region most at risk. Authorities issued several alerts, warning that this storm could kill people.
According to the US Weather Service (NWS), wind speeds of up to 110 km/h are expected on Wednesday. Very intense rains are also expected to hit the area, with up to 10 inches of rainfall expected in the San Francisco Bay area and 1.2 meters of snowfall in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The tide is expected to stop on Thursday.
The region must prepare for “major flooding, inundated roads, landslides, falling trees, major power outages, immediate disruption to trade and worse, probable loss of life,” according to the NWS.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday morning to facilitate emergency response and streamline the agency’s response should an incident occur.
San Francisco has set up an emergency response center.
“If you’re not required to be outside in San Francisco, avoid going out on the street,” warned Rachel Gordon, a city planning officer.
Bars and restaurants there remained closed on Wednesday and some residents were asked to work from home. City firefighters reported several downed trees and some minor flooding Wednesday morning before the heart of the storm hit.
Thousands of sandbags were distributed to residents in flood-prone areas.
“We are very concerned,” San Francisco resident Deepak Srivastava told CBS. “I’ve spent the day piling sandbags in front of all entrances to the garage and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that there’s no further damage.”
“We had a similar flood in October,” sighed his wife Denise Srivastava. “They call it the storm of the century, but it looks like we’re going to have two in a week.”
Northern California is still suffering the effects of a series of storms.
The last erupted on New Year’s Eve, causing landslides and power outages. At least one person has died after being trapped in their car by flooding, authorities said.
On December 31, San Francisco recorded the second rainiest day in its history since the measure was introduced, with 5.5 inches of rain.
Under these conditions, the region’s soils, depleted by the drought that has plagued the American West for two decades, will struggle to absorb a new deluge, increasing the risk of flash floods.
“This storm alone could cause localized flooding and landslides,” weather forecaster Matt Solum told AFP. “But with recent wet conditions … any extra rain will run down instead of soaking up the ground.”
Rain expected on Wednesday comes from an “atmospheric flow,” a narrow, river-like band in the atmosphere that carries vast amounts of moisture from the tropics.
Far from being exceptional in winter, this current phenomenon is accompanied by a “cyclone bomb”, a system capable of suddenly depressurizing and thus generating very violent winds.
According to meteorologists, the series of storms currently battering California will not end.
“We’re expecting another one this weekend,” announced Mr. Solum. “And then possibly multiple storms for the next week. And possibly the following week as well.