The storm was expected to hit the region early Wednesday and last into Thursday. Forecasts show up to 3 inches of rain could fall in the Sacramento region and wind gusts exceeding 50 mph could topple trees and power poles. Even more rain is expected in the foothills and parts of the Bay Area.
‘Two waves’ in Wednesday storm, forecast shows
There will likely be a brief break in Wednesday’s precipitation, the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office said in a morning update, separating a wave of more moderate rainfall in the morning from the anticipated evening downpour.
Radar forecasts show rainfall should pause in the Sacramento Valley by about 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. Then, a more intense round will begin around 6 p.m. and continue through early Thursday morning.
The strongest wind gusts are expected Wednesday afternoon through early Thursday morning, the weather service said.
How to prepare for the storm
People who rely on electricity for medical devices, people in flood-risk areas as well as unsheltered homeless people are at the greatest risk of harm, and emergency officials urged Sacramento residents to seek shelter or stay at home — off the roads, and away from trees.
Residents can sign up for emergency alerts at sacramento-alert.org and should, if possible, stock up on water, put gas in their cars, preemptively charge necessary electronic devices and check their flashlights’ battery life.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors ratified an emergency proclamation over the winter storms in a special meeting Tuesday, paving the way for Sacramento County to get additional funds from the state, as well as aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The county’s Office of Emergency Services has been activated since Dec. 28, in anticipation of the first damaging storm that started Dec. 31.
At the short meeting Tuesday, Supervisor Sue Frost suggested people move their cars away from trees.
“We are anticipating a fairly strong storm,” Mary Jo Flynn-Nevins, chief of emergency services in the county, said at the Tuesday board meeting. “Its highest impact is going to be heavy rain and very, very strong winds, not necessarily in that confined two-hour period that we experienced Saturday evening. ... I’m concerned about sustained gusts of wind throughout the day that could topple trees.”
SMUD reports scattered outages from New Year’s Eve storm
Some 600 homes and businesses across Sacramento County remained without power Wednesday morning, Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s online outage map showed as of 7:30 a.m.
Many of those have been stuck in an outage since the weekend, when more than 165,000 SMUD customers lost power during the New Year’s Eve storm.
SMUD more than doubled its field crew total, from 16 to 33 teams working toward power restoration, the company said in a social media post Tuesday.
“Restoration efforts can be slowed when winds are too high for crews to safely work or access is limited or not possible due to floods,” SMUD tweeted. “Both of those conditions are likely on Wednesday.”
The utility provider also reminded residents not to attempt to remove fallen tree limbs or other debris from downed power lines.
“Tree limbs and other objects can conduct electricity that can shock anyone coming in contact with them.”
River flooding concerns
Several homes and roads near the Cosumnes River in south Sacramento County were flooded during the New Year’s Eve storm. That part of the region remains a concern as rain falling on the Sierra foothills drives downhill into the already-sogged Valley floor.
Point Pleasant, near the Cosumnes and Mokelumne rivers, remained under an evacuation order. Residents of Wilton, where two private levees failed Sunday, remained in a shelter-in-place order.
State water officials said they were confident the elaborate flood control system in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river watersheds will be able to handle the upcoming storm.
Two weirs north of Sacramento — one in Sutter County the other in Colusa County — designed to divert water from the Sacramento River overflowed over the weekend. The weirs are expected to do the same Thursday, providing pivotal relief to the river system, Gary Lippner, deputy director of flood management and dam safety with the state Department of Water Resources, said.
However, Lippner said state water officials do not anticipate they’ll have to open the Sacramento Weir, located between the Yolo Causeway and Garden Highway about 3 miles north of downtown Sacramento.
“There is a fair amount of capacity in the system certainly to handle the forecasted flows for this week, and we continue to monitor that system very closely,” Lippner said.
Still, Lippner said “you will still see some flooding and flood impacts around Sacramento and the Sacramento River.” For example, Discovery Park, at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers, was already flooded Tuesday and the water “will continue to rise there,” he said.
Sierra snow forecast
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for elevations above 5,000 feet, lasting from Wednesday morning through early Friday.
“Be prepared for chain controls, major travel delays, possible road closures, and periods of whiteout conditions. AVOID mountain travel if you can!” the agency tweeted.
Up to 2 feet of snow is expected above 5,000 feet and 3 feet could fall at higher peaks. Wind gusts are expected to hit 65 mph.
Snow levels could fall to around 3,500 at the start of the storm, rising to around 6,000 feet by late Wednesday before dropping again Thursday morning.
This storm is expected to be colder than the New Year’s Eve weather event. That means the Sierra snowpack — a key element of the state’s water supply — will get another boost after an already strong start to the season.
State water officials said Tuesday that the snowpack at Phillips Station along Highway 50 was at 177% of average for this time of the year. Statewide, the average snow-water equivalent is 17.1 inches — 174% of the historical average.
“While we see a terrific snowpack and that in and of itself is an opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief, we are by no means out of the woods when it comes to the drought,” state Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth said.
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