{"id":8705477,"date":"2023-01-04T06:38:16","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T14:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8705477&preview=true&preview_id=8705477"},"modified":"2023-01-05T07:49:54","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T15:49:54","slug":"bay-area-storm-touches-down-heres-what-to-watch-out-for-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/04\/bay-area-storm-touches-down-heres-what-to-watch-out-for-wednesday\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area storm: \u2018Bomb cyclone\u2019 lands, felling trees, cutting power and prompting evacuations"},"content":{"rendered":"

A ruthless winter storm bore down on the Bay Area and Northern California on Wednesday, prompting emergency proclamations, school closures and multiple hazard warnings of potential flooding, debris flows and severe winds.<\/p>\n

The worst of the fast-moving tempest was expected to pass late Wednesday night, leaving Northern California windswept and reeling from its third major storm in just over a week<\/a>. Fueled by a meteorological phenomenon known as a \u201cbomb cyclone\u201d churning over the Pacific, the storm was expected to pummel a broad swath of California from Crescent City to Los Angeles, while raising the threat of mudslides and debris flows over inland burn scars and causing dangerous, near-impossible travel conditions over the Sierra.<\/p>\n

\"Composite
Composite satellite imagery captures a so-called bomb cyclone weather system as it swirls over Northern California on Wednesday, January 4, 2023. (Photo courtesy of CIRA\/NOAA) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe anticipate that this may be one of the most challenging and impactful series of storms to touch down in California in the last five years,\u201d said Nancy Ward, director of the Governor\u2019s Office of Emergency Services.<\/p>\n

Across the Bay Area, powerful winds left thousands of people without power Wednesday afternoon, while forcing one school district in South San Francisco to cancel classes Thursday. In San Jose, local authorities fanned out in a last-minute push to evacuate unhoused people living along creek beds<\/a> \u2014 a warning that some people refused to heed, citing an unwillingness to leave their make-shift homes. Others thought the dangers were overblown.<\/p>\n

Hours before the storm\u2019s arrival, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to hasten the state\u2019s response. Authorities in Santa Cruz County issued mandatory evacuations for areas near Felton, Soquel and Watsonville, while Alameda County sheriff\u2019s deputies went door-to-door urging people to leave their homes near Sunol, due to the risk of flood waters or felled trees.<\/p>\n