Flash flood watches for some coastal regions — and worst yet to come.
MONTEREY >> As a powerful Pacific storm made its way across California on Wednesday, authorities issued flash flood watches in central and southern coastal regions as well as the Sierra Nevada, and warned that the worst was likely still to come.
Impacts from the socalled “atmospheric river” are expected to be less severe in the Bay Area. Still, widespread rainfall, gusty winds and possible thunderstorms, are forecast through today, said Brian Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. Some locations could see up to a quarter-inch of rain per hour.
The North Bay and Santa Cruz mountains are expected to receive 2 to 4 inches and 3 to 5 inches of rain, respectively.
Anticipated impacts from the deluge include localized flooding, debris flows and clogged storm drains.
Winds are forecast to top 35 mph on the coast, 25 mph in interior valleys and 50 mph on some Bay Area peaks. Garcia said the blustery weather could topple trees and knock out power.
Additional showers are possible Friday into Sunday morning, the weather service reported. An extended drying out period is expected to begin Sunday afternoon and last through next week.
The plume of subtropical moisture arrived in the Bay Area on Tuesday. As of 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, 24-hour rainfall totals included 1.84 inches in Santa Cruz, .99 inches in Santa Rosa, .59 inches in downtown San Francisco, .50 inches in Concord, .47 inches in Oakland, .33 inches in Morgan Hill, .26 inches in Hayward and .09 inches in Livermore, according to the weather service. San Jose received only trace amounts in that period.
Heavy rainfall is also forecast for Central California, including the southern Sierra Nevada, according to the weather service. Up to 7 inches of rain could fall in Big Sur.
In Southern California, the most intense downpours could occur today in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, with 1 to 2 inches of rain possible in a threehour window, the weather service reported.
Both counties, in addition to issuing flash flood advisories, have declared evacuations for residential areas near recent wildfire burn scars. Mudslides from a Jan. 9 deluge destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes in Montecito, killed 21 people and left two children missing.
Many residents of both counties have faced repeated evacuations or advisories since December, when a wind-driven fire grew into the largest in recorded state history. It scorched more than 440 square miles, destroyed 1,063 buildings and damaged 280 others.
That blaze and previous fires dating to mid-2016 set up the potential for extreme danger from storms.
Los Angles County on Wednesday night was also expected to declare evacuations for locations burned bare by blazes.