Sacramento County flood evacuations lifted, more rain expected this afternoon
A fierce thunderstorm roared across Northern California early Tuesday morning, drenching an already-soaked Sacramento region while whipping up another round of extreme wind gusts before sunrise.
The storm ripped through the greater Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto areas between about 3 a.m. and 4:45 a.m. The system prompted an early-morning tornado warning in Modesto. Gusts up to 54 mph were recorded around 3:40 a.m. at Sacramento International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
Between about 450 and 550 lightning strikes were recorded across Sacramento County and the far northern portions of San Joaquin County, meteorologist Katrina Hand said based on preliminary weather service data, with most of those striking between 3 a.m and 4 a.m.
The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office said the immediate threat presented by the thunderstorm subsided by about 5 a.m., but that the risk of flooding on roadways and near rivers would continue through Tuesday, with more heavy rain in the day’s forecast amid the latest atmospheric river storm. The Sacramento Valley remains under a flood watch through Wednesday afternoon.
“Most of the county saw anywhere from 0.15 inches to almost 0.4 inches” of rain during Tuesday’s thunderstorm, Hand said, following between about an inch and 1½ inches of rain recorded Monday near Sacramento.
Some of the heaviest rain came near Mather Airport, where 0.41 inches fell early Tuesday morning as gusts peaked at 46 mph, Hand said.
More isolated thunderstorms remained possible Tuesday near Sacramento, with up to a half-inch of rain expected even if no more thunderstorms materialize. Gusts will likely top 30 mph, according to weather service forecasts, with the heaviest winds expected before 1 p.m.
The current atmospheric river is the latest in a relentless series of powerful winter storms that have pounded Northern California since New Year’s Eve, with minimal relief between each successive storm.
At least five people have died in Sacramento County – three swept away in floodwaters from the New Year’s Eve storm in south Sacramento County, followed by a homeless man and woman who had trees fall on their tents in separate incidents during this past weekend’s storm.
Throughout the region, including Sacramento’s midtown and Land Park neighborhoods, uprooted trees have fallen onto cars, homes and power lines several days this month.
President Joe Biden early Monday morning approved an emergency declaration for California “due to the emergency conditions resulting from successive and severe winter storms, flooding, and mudslides.”
Here are the latest updates on the storm in the Sacramento region.
Wilton evacuation lifted, but county urges caution
Sacramento County emergency officials on Tuesday morning lifted a mandatory evacuations for the Wilton area, but warned returning residents to be on the lookout for localized flooding and hazardous road conditions as stormy weather continues this week.
The rural south county community was ordered to evacuate Sunday evening due to “imminent” flood risk from another atmospheric river storm that pounded Northern California starting Monday.
The county lifted the evacuation order, which encompassed all of Wilton and some nearby areas including parts of Elk Grove, just after 11 a.m.
Authorities during a Monday news conference at Wilton Bridge said the Cosumnes River at Michigan Bar was expected to hit its flood stage, 12 feet, around midnight or 1 a.m. Tuesday. The river ultimately peaked Monday night at just 10 feet, and had dropped below 9 feet by Tuesday morning, according to observations from the California Nevada River Forecast Center. The river is not forecast to approach flood levels again this week.
County emergency officials in a news release Tuesday morning warned Wilton residents that weather conditions could change “rapidly,” with moderate rain and more thunderstorms possible into next week.
The county also advised that emergency responders and maintenance crews remain in the Wilton area. Additionally, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District website as of 11 a.m. showed more than 900 homes and businesses in the Wilton area without power.
Flooding swept through Wilton and nearby parts of south Sacramento County on New Year’s Eve, the first in the series of major storms that caused damage in the capital region, as levees failed along the Cosumnes River. The county following that storm placed Wilton under a shelter-in-place order, which was lifted last Friday after six days.
Sacramento County parks to stay closed another day
All Sacramento County Regional Parks will remain closed through at least Wednesday, the county said, extending a closure by one day.
The closure began Monday and includes parks and trails, which county officials said are unsafe due to risk posed by falling trees.
The county said park rangers, law enforcement officers, fire personnel and others have been urging those camped within the American River Parkway to clear out and avoid due storm and flooding danger.
Big rig blows over on I-5 during thunderstorm
An “overblown” big rig crashed and was partially hanging off of southbound Interstate 5 near the Yolo Bypass shortly before 4 a.m., according to Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol. The incident happened during Tuesday morning’s thunderstorm.
Southbound lanes were blocked, reopening shortly before 8 a.m. Minor injuries were reported, according to the CHP activity log.
Also during the thunderstorm, a large tree fell onto Auburn Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in Citrus Heights, police said just before 4:30 a.m. The roadway was closed to traffic in both directions until shortly after 8:30 a.m.
Due to power outages, Sacramento Regional Transit said service on its green and gold light rail lines are temporarily suspended Tuesday.
In Rancho Cordova, police said all light-rail crossing arms in the city “were bent and/or are malfunctioning from the weather overnight,” leading officials to briefly ask drivers to use alternate routes. The arms were repaired and functioning normally shortly before 10:45 a.m., police said in an update.
Man rescued from water near Discovery Park
A boat crew rescued a man from floodwaters at Discovery Park on Tuesday morning, according to the Sacramento Fire Department.
Personnel in a rescue raft paddled out into high-risen waters at the park, which sits at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers, video posted by the Fire Department showed. The crew entered through an access point on Garden Highway, on the Sacramento River side of the park.
The man was evaluated and taken to a hospital, the Fire Department tweeted shortly after 10 a.m. His condition was not known.
Fire crews used a chainsaw to clear part of a large, fallen tree from the access point before deploying the boat, video showed.
Several Sacramento-area schools remain closed
All Sacramento City Unified School District campuses were closed Monday due to the power outage and severe weather.
Five schools in the district remain closed Tuesday: Success Academy, Sutterville Elementary, Pony Express Elementary, Rosa Parks K-8 and John Morse Therapeutic Center.
Folsom Cordova Unified said Cordova High and Mills Middle, as well as Cordova Gardens and Peter J. Shields elementary schools, were closed Tuesday due to power outages and storm damage.
San Juan Unified reported two school closures on Tuesday, its planned return from winter break, due to power outages: Grand Oaks Elementary, in Citrus Heights; and John Barrett Middle School, in Carmichael.
In El Dorado County, all Gold Oak Union and Lake Tahoe Unified campuses were closed due to the weather and power outages, according to the county education office. Pioneer Union schools planned to start on a two-hour delay.
Sci-Tech Academy, in Knights Landing, was closed Monday and remained closed Tuesday. Other Yolo County public schools were open.
Thousands without power across Sacramento
Roughly 15,000 Sacramento Municipal Utility District customers were without power as of 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to SMUD’s online outage map, with outages scattered throughout Sacramento County.
The outage total has fluctuated between about 15,000 and 40,000 customers since Monday morning.
Following extreme gusts early Sunday morning, close to 350,000 homes and businesses – more than half of SMUD’s service area – lost power.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. as of Tuesday morning reported some 93,000 customers without power throughout California.
Most of PG&E’s outages were in the greater Bay Area including nearly 45,000 without power in Santa Clara County, nearly 14,000 in Santa Cruz County and more than 11,000 in San Mateo County.
Snow blankets Sierra Nevada mountains, with more to come
More heavy snow is expected Tuesday in the Sierra Nevada mountains, with the weather service predicting at least 1 foot of snow by Wednesday morning across the central Sierra range, with much more possible at higher elevations.
The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab in tweets Tuesday morning said it expects anywhere between 18 inches to 3 feet of fresh snow by Wednesday morning.
The lab, which is located near Donner Pass, recorded more than 9 inches of snow between Monday and Tuesday mornings, for a total of about 42 inches over the past five days.
Mountain travel is highly discouraged, with Caltrans live traffic cameras showing whiteout conditions on some portions of Interstate 80.
When will the rain and wind let up?
Yet another atmospheric river storm is poised to hit California around midweek, but itseffects are expected to be focused farther north of the capital region.
Rain showers will likely continue Wednesday in Sacramento, with the latest forecasts showing roughly a quarter-inch of rain possible. Gusts could again top 30 mph.
Precipitation should dwindle to a slight chance of showers by Thursday, with winds also dying down near Sacramento, weather service forecasts show.
More wet weather is possible Friday and into the weekend, with amounts not yet settled.
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 8:25 AM.
