High Wind — Central Sacramento Valley, California

2023-01-04 · Central Sacramento Valley, California

Event narrative

On Skyway in De Sabla, powerlines were reported down blocking the whole roadway. Oroville Airport reported a gust from the south of 33 mph.

Wider weather episode

A powerful atmospheric river brought very strong winds with moderate to heavy rain and renewed flooding of the already elevated waterways. There was flooding of roadways, urban areas, rivers, streams, and creeks. There were dangerous mountain travel conditions at Sierra pass levels with 6 to 18 inches of snow above 6500 feet. The warm nature of the storm limited snow amounts further down, with just a few inches of accumulation down to 6000 feet. Winds gusted up to 50-60 mph in the Valley, with gusts up to 70 to 100 mph in the mountains. There were widespread trees down, blocking roads and causing numerous power outages across the area. Rainfall amounts were 1 to 3 inches in the Central Valley and 2 to 6 inches in the foothills and mountains. There were 2 fatalities reported, one due to drowning, and the other due to a rain-related car accident.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1078701. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.