An atmospheric river storm bearing down on the Bay Area could bring 2-3 inches of rain, with four inches expected in the mountains.
The storm, expected to arrive as soon as Tuesday night, will also bring high winds that could topple trees and bring down power lines.
National Weather Service of Monterey meteorologist Nicole Sarment says that runoff from the already saturated soil could cause flooding.
“Don’t go out if you don’t have to, don’t go through flooded areas and secure anything that could be taken by the wind,” Sarment says.
While Santa Cruz County officials are urging everyone ot be prepared, they do not expect it to have the ferocity of last year’s atmospheric river storm.
Santa Cruz County officials say that a flood watch and wind advisory will be in effect countywide on Wednesday and Thursday.
The storm will bring an estimated 2.25 inches to the Watsonville area, with three inches expected for the rest of the county.
County officials in a Facebook post say that everyone should prepare their property by fixing any leaks, clearing gutters and getting sandbags, if needed.
A public sandbag filling station is already set up at Watsonville Fire Station 1 on the corner of Second and Rodriguez streets. Enter on the Rodriguez Street side.
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Visit bit.ly/4bb91zb for a list of places to get sandbags.
For updates on County-maintained roads, visit sccroadclosure.org.
For local state highway conditions, visit cruz511.org.
Sign up for emergency alerts at CruzAware.org.
