Recent rainfall created havoc in many of the Santa Cruz Mountain areas, as well as many parts of California this past week. Power outages and flooding reports were constant as PG&E had crews working around the clock to restore power to residents who were affected. Although the figures for rainfall this past week are not out as of this time, they are expected to be substantial.
“I do not remember seeing rain like this in about 10 years”, said Scotts Valley resident, Stephanie Aguilar. “It was brutal.”
Outdoor furniture was scattered on many residents’ lawns throughout town and the wind was so powerful, it even bent a flag pole in half.
With the calm before the storm we are seeing as of Sunday that should last through Tuesday, residents are being advised to take necessary steps to prepare themselves for what could be another massive rainfall with strong winds beginning Wednesday which could lead to more power outages, flooding and dangerous driving conditions.
My advice? Think about working from home if your job allows it on Wednesday and Thursday.
The National Weather Service has issued the following special weather statement:
POWERFUL STORM TO IMPACT THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA AND MONTEREY BAY AREA FROM LATE WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT... A STRONG STORM SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST BY MIDWEEK. THIS STORM WILL BEGIN TO SPREAD RAIN INTO THE NORTH BAY BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. HEAVY RAIN WILL THEN LIKELY DEVELOP IN THE NORTH BAY ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE STORM SYSTEM BEGINS TO PUSH INLAND. A BAND OF HEAVY RAIN IS THEN FORECAST TO SHIFT SLOWLY SOUTH THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...AND THEN SOUTH INTO THE MONTEREY BAY AREA AND CENTRAL COAST FROM MIDDAY THURSDAY THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING. RAINFALL WILL BEGIN TO TAPER OFF BY THURSDAY NIGHT...BUT SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING. RAINFALL TOTALS WITH THIS STORM FROM LATE WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ARE CURRENTLY PROJECTED TO RANGE FROM 1 TO 4 INCHES IN URBAN AREAS AND AT LOWER ELEVATIONS IN GENERAL...AND FROM 5 TO 8 INCHES IN THE HILLS. LOCALLY HIGHER RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE NORTH BAY COASTAL MOUNTAINS...THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS...AND THE SANTA LUCIAS. RECENT SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL HAS SATURATED THE SOILS ACROSS THE REGION. HEAVY RAIN WITH THIS UPCOMING STORM WILL THEREFORE RESULT IN MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND POORLY DRAINED AREAS...AS WELL AS RAPID RISES ON AREA STREAMS AND CREEKS. IF HEAVY RAINFALL PERSISTS FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME...MORE WIDESPREAD AND SIGNIFICANT FLOODING WILL RESULT. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAINFALL WILL RESULT IN MUD SLIDES AND DEBRIS FLOWS IN AREAS OF STEEP TERRAIN. THIS STORM IS ALSO FORECAST TO PRODUCE STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WINDS. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND BECOME STRONG AND GUSTY BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT. STRONGEST WINDS ARE CURRENTLY EXPECTED FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MIDDAY THURSDAY. DURING THIS TIME...WIDESPREAD WINDS GUSTS OF UP TO 50 MPH ARE LIKELY AND LOCAL WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 70 MPH ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THE COAST AND IN THE HILLS. WIND SPEEDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE WILL TOPPLE TREES AND BRING DOWN POWER LINES. WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES ARE LIKELY. THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL GENERATE LARGE WAVES OFFSHORE...WHICH WILL BEGIN TO BREAK ALONG OUR COAST BY MIDWEEK. HEAVY SURF WILL THEN CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. ANYONE LIVING IN...OR TRAVELING TO...THE SAN FRANCISCO AND MONTEREY BAY AREAS LATER THIS WEEK SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR STORMY CONDITIONS WITH PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS. TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES ARE LIKELY DUE TO SLICK ROADWAYS...ROADWAY FLOODING AND AIRPORT DELAYS. LIGHTWEIGHT OUTDOOR ITEMS SHOULD BE SECURED TO PREVENT THEM FROM BEING BLOWN ABOUT BY THE STRONG WINDS. Click here to read entire advisory.