In what manner is also this season of jubilation, supposed to be an occasion of reunions and merriment with family and friends, being turned upside down and made an ordeal of survival for the masses in general? Even during this Christmas season, the state of California was again undergoing another intense winter storm that had been calling forth tormented rains and demolitions of forceful wind and even snowfall of such ferocity that it had closed down roadways due to threats of avalanche. This covered the Bay Area and even the area of the Sierra.
1. Millions Affected as Rain Flood Strikes
On Christmas Day, 8 million in Southern California were placed under a Level 3 or 4 Moderate threat for “excessive rainfall,” per the Weather Prediction Center. The regions are parts of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties, and can anticipate 2-4 inches of rain in some areas, along with 14 inches in mountains by the end of the week. Those regions have experienced saturation from the storms that rolled through in the past and might experience flash flooding from relatively minor amounts of rainfall. Overall, regions in LA have experienced the equivalent amount of rainfall from one storm that would be experienced in December.
2. Wrightwood’s Burn Scar Area Ordeal
Of the areas that have been impacted, Wrightwood, a mountain town east of Los Angeles, is one of the worst-affected. Since the slopes of Wrightwood have been laid bare by the Bridge Fire of 2024, without any trees, the burn area encourages more debris flow rather than the infiltration of water. Mudflows of ePub rock and floodwater flowed through the town’s streets on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, for which shelter-in-place orders and evacuation alerts were issued. “Currently, Highway 2 is blocked with multiple debris flows, and then of course, there’s significant flooding in the area,” San Bernardino County’s Public Information Officer Chris Prater affirmed. Over 150 of the county’s emergency personnel struggled through the night to rescue residents from their vehicles, roofs, or flood-saturated homes.
3. Tragic Losses in Storm’s Wake
There’ve already been reports of multiple fatalities. In San Diego, for instance, a 61-year-old man lost his life to a fallen trees because of strong winds of over 60 miles an hour. Not so far from Sacramento, a Sheriff Deputy lost control of his car because of rain and crashed into a power pole. There had already been fatalities in the beginning of this series of weather events in the area of Redding and in Mendocino County, and this even before any chance of fatalities could arise because of the unusual weather conditions in so vulnerable an area.
4. San Francisco and Bay Area Lashed by Strong Wind
But Northern California was no different either. Intense thunder storms rolled into the Bay Area of San Francisco late on Christmas Day, bringing heavy rain and winds of up to 72 mph at San Francisco International Airport, while gusts of as much as 95 mph were recorded higher up. Trees downed along with power lines and even some flooding were reported. Well over 165,000 households were left without power statewide at one point.
5. Sierra Nevada Buried in Snow
In the Sierra Nevadas, the snow side of the storm came alive. “The snow reports were staggering,” with “38 inches of snow in 48 hours” received at Northstar, while “33 inches” were received at Kirkwood, followed by “28 inches” in Heavenly. In addition, “23.6″ inches of snow were measured in a day by UC Central Sierra Snow Lab, with an “additional 2 to 3 feet expected.” Chain restrictions were in effect for Interstate 80 over Donner Pass, while an avalanche warning covered “the entire Tahoe Area and Mono County.” This would “cause widespread areas of unstable snow” by early Friday due to “snowpack instabilities” coupled with high winds.
6. Coastal and Marine Hazards
The following are potential hazards at the coast: However, its intensity was evident near the coast with “life-threatening” surf conditions of up to 25 feet measured in northern and central California earlier during the present week, according to updates by the National Weather Service. In another development, part of Santa Cruz’ city wharf collapsed into the ocean caused by the pounding of high surf moving into that region brought by the consecutive atmospheric rivers.
7. Declaration of Emergency and Deployment of Resources
Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, also issued a declaration of a state of emergency in the other counties, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, and Shasta County. A local state of emergency was issued by the Mayor of theLA, Karen Bass. She urged the “Please don’t take this storm seriously Be very cautious on the roads if you must drive.” Deployment of the California National Guard was initiated. Deployment of facilities for the treatment of the evacuees was also initiated. Serrano High School was utilized for the inhabitants of Wrightwood.
8. Preparation for and during Emergencies
They expressed the need for people within flood zones and burned areas to take seriously the warnings of evacuating. They were urging people to turn back on flooded roads, have emergency boxes available, and keep messages on. Chains required on mountain driving, avalanche conditions, and non-essential excursions are also canceled.
As the burned areas could lead to landslides for a prolonged period of four to five years after the event, preparation is the key during the months of excessive rain. Although the forecast has indicated the possibility of a different Monday, it’s obvious that the previous week is a lesson in the extremities of a California winter, within which a holiday week could integrate a flood, hurricane-force winds, and a potential blizzard.
