Storm cleanup continues as another system moves in – Woodland Daily Democrat

A potent atmospheric river barreled ashore in Northern California, bringing downpours and high winds that knocked out power, downed trees and generally made life miserable.

The onslaught is expected to continue possibly through Friday, although winds are expected to ease up.

As of Wednesday at midday, there were around 10,000 people without power in Woodland and 9,000 in Davis, according to PG&E officials. Power being restored across parts of Woodland by PG&E crews while staff from the citys Public Works Department were out cutting up fallen trees or tree limbs and clearing streets which were hardest hit.

But the work has been slow.

Meanwhile, residents were out early morning, sweeping debris from roads and gutters to allow water to make its way into drains. For most, the storm was an inconvenience, leaving overturned trash toters and plenty of detritus in their front yards or on sidewalks.

But for others, the blast of the atmospheric river could have been deadly with some trees falling on homes, or bringing down live power lines. Woodland firefighters and police responded throughout the night to reports of problems from major to minor.

Firefighters reported responding to more than 50 calls overnight with more during the day while police reported making 155 calls during same period.

Some senior citizens who lost power but were on oxygen needed assistance as did the owners of some businesses, who found their alarms going off. Some roads were also closed due to localized flooding, notably sections of Beamer Street and North Pioneer Avenue.

While the rain was bad, it was the wind that did the worst damage. There were wind gust reports of 67 mph in Sacramento, and the peak at Alpine Meadows ski resort near Lake Tahoe had a 125 mph wind gust, the National Weather Service said.

The wind was so powerful locally it blew at least three big-rigs off Interstate 5, resulting in the closure of southbound I-5 starting at Hwy. 113 south to the Sacramento Airport.

The road was closed down around 1:30 a.m. when a big-rig went off the bypass. A portion of the rig was still dangling over the bridge as of 6 a.m., according to Caltrans. As of 10:30 a.m., the big-rigs were cleared and traffic reopened on southbound I-5.

Areas in Woodland without power were primarily located on the south and southwest side. Downtown Woodland did have power as of early Wednesday, but there were fluctuations as a result of the continuing winds, which were expected by the weather service to start dying down around 8 a.m.

However, as of noon, large stretches of the city were still without power.

Woodland schools were affected but power was coming back on, officials reported. At the beginning of Wednesday, there were power outages at about 50% of local schools. Power has been restored, however, at Plainfield, Spring lake, Prairie, Zamora and Freeman elementary schools, Sci-tech in Knights Landing, Pioneer and Woodland High schools.

Although these schools have power, we do realize that many of the students that attend may not, according to a statement from the district. Even with schools that do not have power, we are moving forward with synchronous instruction with the understanding that some students may need accommodations to make up work once power and internet service is restored. Individual school sites will be communicating with their families about asynchronous opportunities as well.

Elsewhere, more than 36,100 Bay Area customers of PG&E were without power, and nearly 100,000 lost electricity in the Sacramento area, SFGate.com reported.

People were being advised by emergency services personnel to stay home if they had nowhere to be in order to avoid falling trees, blocks streets and other debris on roads.

The atmospheric river a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific was preceded by lighter rain before intensifying Tuesday evening, hitting the North Bay first, then spreading south to Santa Cruz, Monterey and Big Sur. Rare snow was reported in Sonoma and Napa counties north of San Francisco at elevations as low as 1,300 feet.

Debris flows torrents carrying massive boulders, soil, trees and other objects are considered more dangerous than mudslides or landslides. The Jan. 9, 2018, debris flow that blasted the Santa Barbara County community of Montecito killed 23 people.

Flash flood watches were issued for two other Northern California areas scorched by lightning complexes, and snow was forecast to fall as low as the floor of the Sacramento Valley. Travelers were urged to stay off mountain roads above the valley.

The National Weather Service issued a rare blizzard warning for Lake Tahoe and much of the Sierra, forecasting up to 6 feet of snow falling on upper elevations and winds in excess of 100 mph over ridgetops.

Describing it as a potential life-threatening situation, the warning was to be in effect from 10 p.m. Tuesday through 4 a.m. Friday for the Tahoe area as far south as Mammoth Lakes.

The Washoe County School District notified parents Tuesday night all Nevada public schools in Reno-Sparks and the north Lake Tahoe area would be closed Wednesday and remain closed Thursday at Incline Village on the lakes northeast shore.

A warning was also issued for widespread high avalanche danger on the eastern slopes of the Sierra because of heavy snow combining with wind from before dawn Wednesday through Friday morning.

We cannot stress this enough, the California Department of Transportation tweeted. If you have not arrived to your destination before sunset tonight, travel to the Sierra is not advised. Heavy snow is on tap and whiteout conditions are expected.

Meanwhile, icy conditions in mountains north of Los Angeles shut vital Interstate 5 in Tejon Pass until early afternoon. Some truckers tried old narrow mountain roads around the closure and became stuck. In the same region, State Route 58 in Tehachapi Pass reopened at late morning after an overnight closure.

In the Sierra Nevada, the closure of Yosemite National Park was extended to at least Jan. 30. The park sustained heavy damage more than a week ago when it was battered by fierce winds that swept through California before the onset of the current storms.

While the upcoming storm could pose danger, it could help ease dry conditions that have left more than 95% of California experiencing drought.

The Associated Press and The Daily Democrat contributed to this report.

This story will be updated as new information becomes available.

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Storm cleanup continues as another system moves in - Woodland Daily Democrat