SAN FRANCISCO — A storm turned into a powerful “bombing cyclone” before slamming into the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast Tuesday afternoon, killing at least one person, closing numerous roads, derailing an Amtrak train and blowing over a large oil rig the Bay Bridge, canceled transit including ferries and buses, grounded flights, uprooted trees and nearly 200,000 PG&E customers without power.
For weather geeks, Tuesday brought a dizzying trifecta of a bomb cyclone, a rare Fujiwhara effect and a stab jet. For everyone else it brought misery.
The storm-related death occurred on the peninsula, where a tree fell on a van traveling along Alpine Road outside Portola Valley, killing the driver inside. According to The Mercury News, a photographer at the scene reported that the victim was driving a plumber’s vehicle.
In Napa County, a tree fell on a pickup truck traveling on Highway 29, completely blocking the road. Fortunately, the driver was not injured.
In the East Bay, an Amtrak train crashed into a fallen tree half a mile east of Port Costa, causing a derailment. There were initially no reports of injuries.
Highway 101 in Marin County was closed due to a fallen tree. Highway 9 was impassable through the Santa Cruz Mountains.
A large oil rig has overturned on the Bay Bridge, blocking several lanes of traffic. Nothing was initially known about the condition of the driver.
The weather madness was caused by a “bomb cyclone”. The phenomenon is characterized by a rapid drop in pressure.
The #MontereyBay buoy really made a leap today. Sea level pressure fell by 24 millibars in just under 17 hours! Oops! This is a meteorological 💣 (24MB or more drop in 24 hours or less). And we had the wind to prove it. This summary will follow shortly.#cawx pic.twitter.com/EpRoLlmmCc
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) March 22, 2023
But it wasn’t just one depression, at least two were rotating around each other. The rare occurrence is called the Fujiwhara effect.
Which atmospheric Beyblade wins? In the end, the result means strong winds throughout the region! Watch out for fallen trees and power lines https://t.co/K7j5th18ff
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) March 21, 2023
To make matters worse, the National Weather Service reported a “stab jet,” representing an acceleration of winds near a low-pressure center, the LA Times reported.
The winds roared ashore with more than a dozen gusts at or above hurricane force, destroying trees and power lines. The strongest wind gust was 89 mph recorded at KNPT Towers. Here is the list of locations and gusts recorded by the NWS that equaled or exceeded hurricane strength:
- KNPT Towers 89 MPH
- Point Potrero 88 MPH
- Poo107 Loma Chiquita 85 MPH
- River Los Gatos 82 MPH
- Mount Alison 81 MPH
- Loma Prieta 81 MPH
- Pier One 77 MPH
- Soda Springs Road 76 MPH
- 24.9 SW Greenfield (DRI) 75 MPH
- Mountain Three Times 75 MPH
- Mine Tower 74 MPH
- Oakland Airport 74 MPH
- Lake Drive 74 MPH
- Mount Diablo 74 MPH
In addition to blocking roads, trees downed by the high winds have damaged power lines. At 2:30 p.m., PG&E reported 88,208 customers without power across all five divisions. By 5 p.m., the number had grown to 188,000.
Bay Area Power Outages (Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.)
- East Bay: 82,932 customers
- Peninsula: 43,489 customers
- San Francisco: 34,897 customers
- South Bay: 19,956 customers
- North Bay: 3,183 customers
PG&E said outage activity “increased significantly” in the early afternoon as crews responded to a cascade of reports of downed trees, branches and other debris. The utility said its crews are ready to deploy at full force Tuesday in coordination with the Emergency Operations Center. More than 20 helicopters from the fleet have been placed on standby to assist with aerial photography and other support if needed.
Officials are asking anyone who sees downed wires or wires to stay away and call 911 and then contact PG&E directly at 1-800-743-5002. Residents can also search for outages in their area using the online map or by calling 1-800-743-5000.
Here are some Storm memories from PG&E:
- PG&E encourages customers to have a plan, prepare for power outages, and most importantly, stay safe.
- Customers can find out about outages in their neighborhood through a variety of channels.
- Contact our Outage Information Hotline at 1-800-743-5002
- Customers can also log into their account through pge.com and opt-in to receive proactive outage alerts via email, SMS or phone.
- Never touch fallen power lines: If you see a fallen power line, assume it is live and extremely dangerous. Don’t touch it or try to move it – and keep children and animals away. Report broken power lines immediately by calling 911 and calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
- Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use battery-powered flashlights rather than candles due to the risk of fire. If you need to use candles, please keep them away from curtains, lampshades, animals and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
- Have a spare phone handy: If you have a phone system that requires power to function, such as a cordless phone or an answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or mobile phone ready as a backup.
- Have fresh drinking water, Ice: Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice to put in your fridge/freezer during a power outage to prevent food spoilage. Blue Ice from your picnic cooler also works well in the freezer.
- Secure outdoor furniture: Patio furniture, light garden structures and decorative lawn items should be secured as they can be blown away by high winds and damage to overhead power lines and property.
- Use Generators Safely: Customers with standby power generators should ensure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant hazard to customers and crews working on power lines. If using portable generators, ensure they are in a well-ventilated area.
- Turn off appliances: If you experience a power outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and risk of fire when power is restored. Just leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your devices back on one at a time as conditions return to normal.
- Clean Up Safely: After the storm has passed, make sure you clean up safely. Never touch fallen utilities and always call 8-1-1 at least two full business days before digging or visit 811express.com to have all underground utilities safely tagged.
