Storm halts Sierra interstate traffic as strong, gusty winds lash Sacramento

A powerful storm system battered the Sacramento region overnight into early Wednesday, flooding roads, knocking out traffic signals and triggering a surge of minor crashes from downtown Sacramento to the foothills as drivers faced standing water and slick freeways during the morning commute.

Forecasters warned the worst of the wind was still ahead later Wednesday during the Christmas Eve rush.

The storm was the second of two atmospheric systems expected to rake Northern California through Christmas, bringing periods of heavy rain and powerful southerly winds. High wind warnings remain in effect across the Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills through Thursday afternoon, with National Weather Service forecasters cautioning that saturated soils combined with strong gusts could topple trees, damage power lines and create dangerous travel conditions as additional rain moves through the Valley and snow begins piling up in the Sierra.

Here’s what to know:

Flash flood warnings for Natomas, Rio Linda, Elverta, West Sacramento

A flash flood warning was issued for parts of the city of Sacramento, the National Weather Service said. The warning, issued at 4:35 p.m., covered northwest Sacramento County and adjacent areas of Yolo County, including Sacramento, West Sacramento, North and South Natomas, Rio Linda and Elverta, and remained in effect until 7:30 p.m.

Forecasters warned of flooding in urban areas, highways and low-lying or poor-drainage locations, including Dry Creek, Steelhead Creek and Natomas drainage canals. About 280,000 people lived within the warning area. Officials urged drivers to avoid flooded roadways, noting that most flood-related deaths occur in vehicles.

Waterways in the region were rising but remained below flood stage Wednesday evening. The west branch of Dry Creek was still under flood stage, while the Sacramento River was expected to trigger flows over the Fremont Weir as early as Friday, diverting water into the Yolo Bypass. A similar flash flood warning was issued north of Elverta into parts of Sutter and Placer counties, and additional short-lived warnings for hail and thunderstorms were issued across the region earlier in the afternoon.

Motorist killed south of Elk Grove; driver stranded in Sutter County

A solo crash blamed on wet roadway conditions killed a driver in southern Sacramento County about 2 miles south of Elk Grove, the California Highway Patrol said.

The crash was reported just before 6 a.m. on Franklin Boulevard north of Point Pleasant Road, about 2 miles south of Elk Grove, according to Officer Michael Harper, a spokesperson for the CHP’s South Sacramento office.

Harper said the man was driving a Chevrolet southbound on Franklin Boulevard at an unknown speed when he lost control of the vehicle on the wet roadway. The car crossed into the oncoming lane, traveled onto the east shoulder and struck a large metal power pole on the driver’s side.

Firefighters pronounced the man dead at the scene, Harper said. The victim is expected to identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office once next of kin are notified.

In Nicolaus, a Sutter County designated place east of Lincoln, a bridge became flooded from canal waters overnight, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service reported in the early morning that a person and their vehicle became stranded on the bridge after they attempted to drive over the submerged bridge. Law enforcement was reportedly able to rescue the driver from the water.

Flood advisory canceled for Sacramento

At 7:30 a.m., the National Weather Service canceled its flood advisory for Sacramento early Wednesday, but warned that urban and roadway flooding would continue through the morning as runoff from overnight rain drained slowly from streets and low-lying areas.

A flood watch advisory for most of Northern California remains in effect until 4 p.m. Friday as additional rounds of rain were forecast through Christmas Day.

Winds topped 50 mph across capital region

Strong overnight winds swept through the Sacramento region as the storm peaked after midnight, lashing trees, power lines and vehicles and producing gusts well above 50 mph in several locations, according to the National Weather Service.

In Sacramento County, the strongest reported gust reached 77 mph in the Rosemont area at about 1:35 a.m., while Mather Field recorded a 53 mph gust at 4:15 a.m. and McClellan Airport gauges reached 49 mph shortly before 4 a.m. In Yolo County, gusts climbed to 43 mph near Washington Lake in West Sacramento around 4 a.m. and 42 mph in east Davis.

Foothill communities saw some of the highest winds during the early-morning hours, according to the weather service. Placerville clocked a 56 mph gust at 3:35 a.m., while Foresthill reached 52 mph shortly before 2 a.m. and Blue Canyon in Placer County recorded 53 mph just after 6:25 a.m. Auburn, Lincoln and Shingle Springs also reported gusts between 44 and 47 mph.

The most extreme winds were recorded at higher elevations. Ward Mountain at Alpine Meadows registered a gust of 105 mph around 1 a.m., while winds topped 80 mph above the town of Pulga in Butte County.

Power outages spread across region

As of about 7 a.m., roughly 6,000 customers were without electricity across Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties, with the majority of outages occurring in Pacific Gas and Electric Co. territory outside Sacramento County. By 11:30 a.m., most of the region’s PG&E customers had service once again.

By midday, Placer County reported nearly 700 customers without power. El Dorado County had about 261 outages, Yolo County had 21 and Sacramento County only 9.

Statewide, PG&E reported around 73,000 customers were without power, most of them in coastal counties such as Monterey and Sonoma. Major outages were also reported in the Los Angeles area, with more than 10,000 customers affected in Los Angeles County alone.

SMUD, which serves most of Sacramento County, said it was ready to respond during the storm but warned that severe wind and rain could still cause outages by knocking branches into power lines. As of 11:30 a.m., SMUD reported fewer than 300 customers were affected by outages.

“SMUD is prepared for this week’s winter storm, which is expected to produce precipitation and strong wind and gusts through the holiday,” the utility said.

PG&E said it activated emergency response centers and deployed thousands of workers across Northern and Central California ahead of the storm, staging equipment to speed restoration efforts.

Both utilities urged customers to prepare for possible power outages as high winds and additional rain continued through the holiday.

Roadway flooding, downed trees and a slow commute

Roadway conditions across the Sacramento region were snarled Wednesday morning by the remnants of the overnight storm, which peaked around 2 a.m. before downpours and strong winds tapered off by about 5 a.m. across the capital region.

California Highway Patrol logs showed widespread roadway flooding on all the freeways, including Interstate 80 and the Capital City Freeway by Cal Expo. Despite the rain slowing around 7 a.m., several cars were seen wading through flooded inside lanes near Exposition Boulevard.

Cars were seen fishtailing on I-80 near Norwood Avenue in North Sacramento before Caltrans crews could clear debris. The standing water and ponded pavement contributed to a number of fender-benders, spinouts and disabled vehicles through the morning drive, which remained light due to the holiday.

The Sacramento County Department of Water Resources reported at 9:30 a.m. that it had responded to 26 reports of flooding and six downed trees Wednesday morning. The department urged residents to call 311 to report clogged storm drains, street flooding or fallen trees.

The city of Sacramento reported at noon that it had responded to 50 rain-related reports and cleared 438 storm drains since 6 a.m., officials said. It also received 50 reports in the past 48 hours related to trees, mostly downed limbs.

Flooding was reported on multiple Highway 50 on- and off-ramps near Hazel Avenue, Sunrise Boulevard, Bradshaw Road and 65th Street, as well as along I-80 near Newcastle Road in Placer County. Several surface streets across unincorporated portions of the county that CHP patrols were also flooded, according to the incident log.

CHP also responded to numerous traffic hazards and signal outages that compounded congestion, including malfunctioning traffic signals at across the foothill communities in Placer and El Dorado counties.

Chains required on mountain roads

Caltrans officials implemented chain controls on mountain highways, including Interstate 80 and Highway 50.

As of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, chains were required on the majority of vehicles. The only exempt vehicles were those with four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, given they have snow tires fitted on all wheels. Chain requirements for trucks were at the maximum level.

The controls impacted drivers traveling eastbound and westbound on both highways.

Around 10:40 a.m., Caltrans reported it was holding all traffic eastbound on Interstate 80 at the Kingvale chain checkpoint due to incidents or weather concerns.

According to reports, truck-trailers traveling eastbound from Applegate along Interstate 80 toward Donner Summit were being turned around due to traction control issues.

Northstar, Boreal make overnight snow reports

A snow report posted about 7 a.m. by Northstar at Tahoe ski resort reports the slopes there received 6 inches of snow in the past 24 hours and 19 inches in the past 48 hours. In the past seven days, Northstar at Tahoe recorded 27 inches of snow.

The resort has a base of 21 inches of snow. It has received a total of 53 inches of snow this season.

Snow was seen falling on traffic cameras outside Sierra-at-Tahoe and around Donner Summit at 9:30 a.m. A few miles west of Donner Summit, the Boreal Mountain Resort appeared to have heavy snowfall Wednesday morning around 10 a.m., according to its webcams.

Boreal, located in Soda Springs along Interstate 80, reported receiving 3 inches of snow overnight as of Wednesday morning. Its base reached 14 inches and its season total approached 3 feet of snow.

Minor storm damage in midtown

Minor storm damage was visible Wednesday morning in an otherwise midtown as the skies cleared by breakfast time.

Several vehicles near the Safeway on 19th Street in the Richmond Grove neighborhood appeared Wednesday morning to have been struck by tree branches. Otherwise, damage seemed minimal throughout the capital city’s grid.

There were palm fronds and leaves on the ground in the area of 22nd and N streets as a parking enforcement officer patrolled the otherwise empty road.

Timing of the next wave of wind and rain

Forecasters said the storm system was expected to have two main wind surges — the second round expected to begin around 5 p.m. Wednesday evening and last through Thursday morning. Southerly winds were forecast to increase again Wednesday evening, with gusts up to 40 to 50 mph strengthening overnight and into early Thursday.

“We had a band of very heavy rainfall move through early this morning,” said meteorologist Courtney Carpenter with the weather service.

She warned motorists to be careful of lingering street flooding but said the worst weather tapered off before dawn.

Up to an inch of rain is expected through Thursday morning, Carpenter said.

In anticipation of the second wind surge, the Imaginarium, billed as “Northern California’s largest holiday light festival,” will be closed Wednesday night, Cal Expo announced in a post on X.

“We’re wishing you a Merry Christmas Eve and we can’t wait to welcome you back soon!” the announcement read.

Latest doppler radar loop for Northern California

Source: National Weather Service

How much rain did we get?

Rainfall totals from overnight showed the storm’s muscle was stronger along the eastern edge of the Valley and through the Sierra foothills, according to the National Weather Service.

In the Sacramento area, most locations picked up about a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch of rain in the 24 hours ending 7 a.m. Wednesday. Citrus Heights recorded 0.71 inches in the 24-hour span, while Carmichael measured 0.59 inches, Orangevale 0.52 inches and Fair Oaks 0.46 inches. Davis reported 0.27 inches, among the lighter totals in the region.

Rainfall increased markedly east and north of Sacramento. Parts of Placer and El Dorado counties saw around an inch or more, including 1.03 inches in Rocklin, 1 inch in Auburn and Folsom and 1.23 inches near Granite Springs in El Dorado County. Nevada City recorded 1.58 inches, while Grass Valley measured 1.15 inches.

Plumas Lake in Yuba County recorded nearly 3 inches of rain, the highest total in the Valley, according to the weather service. Other heavy totals included 1.90 inches near Serene Lakes in Placer County, 1.73 inches in Chester, 1.53 inches at Jarbo Gap and 1.36 inches in Oroville.

Southern California getting walloped

While conditions eased in the Sacramento region by daybreak Wednesday, the same atmospheric river storm was intensifying farther south, where forecasters warned Southern California was bracing for what could be its worst Christmas storm in years.

Heavy rain and strong winds spread across the south state early Wednesday, with the National Weather Service warning of a high potential for widespread, life-threatening flooding, particularly near recent burn scars, according to the Los Angeles Times. Flash flood warnings were issued in several areas, including the Altadena burn zone, and officials began ordering evacuations for residents near wildfire burn areas across Los Angeles County.

“This is a long-duration event, so we’re going to be having the cumulative effects of rain,” said Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Oxnard office.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Shasta counties, his office announced in a post on X.

Forecasters said flooding concerns were expected to peak Wednesday and could linger through the weekend, as multiple rounds of rain stack up on already saturated ground.

Winds and flooding on the Central Coast

The same atmospheric river storm hammered the Central Coast overnight, dumping heavy rain across San Luis Obispo County and prompting flood and high-wind warnings through Christmas Day.

By mid-morning Wednesday, more than an inch of rain had fallen in many parts of the county, including more than 2 inches in Santa Margarita and nearly 1.75 inches in San Luis Obispo, according to county officials. Flooding was reported along Highway 166 east of Highway 101.

Forecasters warned that the storm could bring 3 to 5 inches of rain in coastal valleys and up to 8 inches in the mountains, along with damaging winds gusting to 70 mph.

The Bee’s Don Sweeney, Daniel Hunt, Lauren Chapman, Camila Pedrosa and Graham Womack; the Tribune of San Luis Obispo; and the Los Angeles Times contributed to this story.

This story was originally published December 24, 2025 at 8:20 AM.