Atmospheric river to bring powerful wind, heavy rain to Bay Area
Posted on 11/23/2024
An atmospheric river is continuing to batter Northern California with heavy rain. Now, meteorologists predict that it will also bring powerful, blustery winds to the region on Friday.
The heavy rainfall could increase the risk of landslides and flooding in the North Bay region in particular, a Friday morning forecast from the National Weather Service shows, while strong winds could blow around loose objects, down trees and damage power lines, leading to outages.
As a result, a wind advisory is in effect in San Francisco, the East Bay and higher elevation regions throughout Northern and Central California until Friday night. The area could see winds up to 30 mph and gusts up to 50 mph, the weather service warned, while areas above 2,500 feet could experience even stronger gusts of more than 65 mph.
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In addition, a flood advisory has been issued for Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties until Saturday morning, the weather service website shows — but relief is likely on the way.
“Today is going to be a big push southwards,” weather service meteorologist Rachel Kennedy told SFGATE on Friday, explaining that moderate to heavy rain will spread from the North Bay to the rest of the Bay Area region by the afternoon. On Friday night, the rain band will likely arrive in the South Bay and Central Coast, before mostly easing up on Saturday.
Finally, “by Saturday, the bulk of all the rain will be out of our area, and it’ll mainly be light, lingering, scattered showers,” Kennedy said. Seven-day weather service forecasts show that San Francisco will likely see rain through the weekend, but only about half an inch on Sunday, and the same goes for Oakland.
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For now, the public is advised to secure any loose objects and drive with extra caution. Though the flooding in low-lying areas and roadways is expected to be minor, drivers should remain vigilant and never try to plow through the water, no matter how shallow it may seem.
“Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads,” the weather service advisory reads. “Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.”
The heavy rainfall could increase the risk of landslides and flooding in the North Bay region in particular, a Friday morning forecast from the National Weather Service shows, while strong winds could blow around loose objects, down trees and damage power lines, leading to outages.
As a result, a wind advisory is in effect in San Francisco, the East Bay and higher elevation regions throughout Northern and Central California until Friday night. The area could see winds up to 30 mph and gusts up to 50 mph, the weather service warned, while areas above 2,500 feet could experience even stronger gusts of more than 65 mph.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
In addition, a flood advisory has been issued for Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties until Saturday morning, the weather service website shows — but relief is likely on the way.
“Today is going to be a big push southwards,” weather service meteorologist Rachel Kennedy told SFGATE on Friday, explaining that moderate to heavy rain will spread from the North Bay to the rest of the Bay Area region by the afternoon. On Friday night, the rain band will likely arrive in the South Bay and Central Coast, before mostly easing up on Saturday.
Finally, “by Saturday, the bulk of all the rain will be out of our area, and it’ll mainly be light, lingering, scattered showers,” Kennedy said. Seven-day weather service forecasts show that San Francisco will likely see rain through the weekend, but only about half an inch on Sunday, and the same goes for Oakland.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
For now, the public is advised to secure any loose objects and drive with extra caution. Though the flooding in low-lying areas and roadways is expected to be minor, drivers should remain vigilant and never try to plow through the water, no matter how shallow it may seem.
“Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads,” the weather service advisory reads. “Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.”
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