Storm slams Northern California after leaving thousands without power in Seattle: NPR

HEALDSBURG, Calif. – Heavy rains fell across much of Northern California on Friday, causing small landslides, flooding a river and inundating some streets, including in parts of San Francisco. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people were still without power in the Seattle area after several days of darkness.

The storm arrived in the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, mostly in the Seattle area, before moving through northern California, where several roads were closed due to flooding and strong winds whipped up trees.

Forecasters warned of the risk of flash flooding and rockslides in areas north of San Francisco from this season’s strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of water that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land.

On the East Coast, another storm brought much-needed rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks. The rain reduced fire danger for the rest of the year and was a boost for ski resorts preparing to open in the coming weeks. Parts of West Virginia were under a blizzard warning through Saturday morning, with up to 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow and high winds making travel treacherous.

In California’s Humboldt County, the sheriff’s office downgraded evacuation orders to warnings for people near the Eel River after forecasters said the waterway would see moderate but not major flooding. Officials urged residents to prepare for storm impacts throughout the week.

Flooding closed Scenic Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in neighboring Mendocino County north of Point Arena near the Garcia River, and there was no estimate of when it would reopen, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Santa Rosa experienced its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of rain, according to the National Weather Service in the Bay Area.

A small mudslide threatened a home in the community of Fitch Mountain, near Healdsburg, nestled in the hills along the Russian River in Sonoma County. Moderate rain fell, and officials were concerned that the slide could grow and hit more homes downhill.

“Our concern is that even if this property is OK, the ground is sliding between it and the road below and the mudslide is affecting downhill properties,” said Tennis Wick, permit and resource director for Sonoma County.

Dana Eaton, who lives in one of the downhill properties and was dressed in yellow rain boots and a hat, said she was also concerned. In 2019, mud poured into a neighbor’s garage.

Asked how the last few days have been, she laughed: “Wet. Constant rain. It’s like everywhere else in the county, but nothing major so far, just worries.”

In Washington state, nearly 117,000 people were still without power, most in the Seattle area’s King County, as crews worked to clear streets of downed lines, branches and other debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last into Saturday.

People flocked to a senior center in suburban Issaquah to get hot food and plug in their cell phones and other devices. One of them, Melissa Tryon, said she had been unable to charge her electric motorized wheelchair and had to throw out all the food in her fridge after it went bad.

“Today I had a bit of a meltdown,” Tyron said. “It’s hard to be cut off for so long.”

Gale warnings were issued for Washington, Oregon and California, and high wind warnings were in effect for parts of northern California and Oregon. Winter storm warnings were in place for parts of the California Cascades and Sierra Nevada.

The National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, reported a morning gust of 128 mph (206 km/h) at the top of the Palisades Tahoe ski resort, about 10 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe, where some slopes were open. Wind gusts up to 86 mph (138 km/h) were recorded at Mt. Rose, which closed due to the weather.

The system roared ashore on the West Coast on Tuesday as a “bomb cyclone”, which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed violent winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes.

Debra Campbell, 65, said she sat in the dark with a flashlight that night, unable to sleep, as strong winds whipped her home in Crescent City, California. With a massive boom, a 150-foot (46-meter) tree came crashing down on her home and car.

“It was just so incredibly scary,” Campbell said. “Once I realized it wasn’t going to come through the ceiling where I was at, I was able to grab my car keys and my wallet… And I open the front door and it’s just solid wood.”

She was able to stay with her boyfriend that night, but now that she’s living on Social Security and no savings, she worries about how she’ll pay for repairs.

Officials warned of the risk of flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows, especially where hillsides were loosened by recent wildfires.

In the drought-stricken Northeast, more than 2 inches of rain was expected Saturday morning north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.

Despite the mess, the rainfall was expected to help ease drought conditions in a state that has seen an unusually dry fall.

“It’s not going to be a drought disturbance, but it will certainly help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.

Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains, prompting a number of school closings. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with smaller accumulations in valley cities such as Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. More than 92,000 customers in 10 counties lost power, and the state Department of Transportation imposed speed limits on some highways.

Gary Wilson, 37, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, was on his way to his casino job in the Poconos in the morning when he got stuck in a traffic jam, the result of accidents and downed power lines. At one point he was worried about being stranded because it was snowing hard and plows couldn’t get through. Traffic didn’t start moving again until about five hours later, and Wilson never made it to work.

“I’m done for the day,” Wilson said. “Five and a half hours in the car, turn around and get home safely.”