A powerful storm referred to as a “bomb cyclone” and “atmospheric river” walloped Northern California late Sunday into Monday morning, causing flooding, power outages and mudslides.
Drenching showers and strong winds accompanied the weekend’s arrival of the atmospheric river — a long and wide plume of moisture pulled in from the Pacific Ocean.
The storm soaking the Bay Area on Sunday was tied as the third-strongest since 1950 on the Bay Area Storm Index, and the strongest in 26 years.
The utility company, PG&E, reported that at the height of the storm approximately 380,000 customers lost power — about 7% of the utility’s 5.5 million electric customers. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, power was restored for approximately 250,000 customers.
The company said residents in the greater Bay Area with San Mateo, Santa Clara and Marin counties were the heaviest impacted by the storm and power outages.
By early Monday, Californians were not out of the woods. The National Weather Service reported the atmospheric river storm will continue to produce multiple hours of heavy rainfall at least through the day.
Heavy rain overnight Sunday is expected to exacerbate runoff in areas in Northern California that have been hit with wildfires, causing even more destructive landslides.
Burn areas remain a concern for officials, as land devoid of vegetation can’t soak up heavy rainfall as quickly, increasing the likelihood of flash flooding.
“If you are in the vicinity of a recent burn scar and haven’t already, prepare now for likely debris flows,” the Sacramento weather service tweeted. “If you are told to evacuate by local officials, or you feel threatened, do not hesitate to do so. If it is too late to evacuate, get to higher ground.”
