Monday’s Atmospheric River Will Be a Quick-Transferring One However Carry Bursts of Excessive Winds and Extra Rain
The next atmospheric flow is expected to come through the Bay Area Monday night through Wednesday morning, bringing more wind, rain and potential flooding.
The National Weather Service is predicting wind gusts of up to 70mph in some spots around the bay – with the potential to snap tree branches and damage power lines.
Forecast peak wind gusts from Monday night through Wednesday morning. Gusts of 40 to 50 mph for the valleys and gusts of 55 to 70 mph for the immediate shoreline and coastal hills over 1000 feet. Expect power outages. More details here: https://t.co/xlZP9V3TqM #cawx pic.twitter.com/3lPbUvpjsE
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) March 12, 2023
Rain on Sunday already prompted the NWS to issue flood warnings for Santa Clara and San Mateo counties through 8:30 p.m., warning of minor flooding in low-lying and poorly drained areas as well as streams and creeks in the area, ABC7 reported.
#BayArea rainfall so far today. This has already caused flooding in San Mateo and Alameda counties #cawx pic.twitter.com/Oew74Y62jY
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) March 12, 2023
Atmospheric flow could bring 1 to 3 inches of rain to low-lying land, SFGATE reported, and 3 to 6 inches of rain to higher-elevation areas. The highest parts of the bay, like Mount Diablo and the Oakland and Berkeley foothills, could see as much as 8 inches of rainfall, Patrick Ayd, meteorologist at NOAA, told SFGATE.
The weather system could also worsen flooding that has already devastated many parts of the Bay Area, including the levee failure in Monterey County that prompted the evacuation of the unincorporated community of Pajaro on Saturday, KPIX reported.
In San Francisco, the city is still distributing sandbags to flood-prone properties on the public works property.
The upcoming atmospheric flow should be moving relatively quickly, meteorologists say, so it shouldn’t drop as much rain as the last few storms.
Image via Unsplash/Edgar Chaparro.
