Strong Wind — San Francisco Bay Shoreline, California

2023-03-21 · San Francisco Bay Shoreline, California

Event narrative

A tree fell onto a white van traveling eastbound near the area of Alpine Road and La Cuesta Drive just west of Interstate 280 in Portola Valley. CHP responded to the scene at 1:34 PM, cleared some large branches, and found a man dead inside. Alpine Road was closed west of Interstate 280 in both directions.

Wider weather episode

A rapidly intensifying cyclone brought high winds to the region. A High Wind Warning was issued for the San Mateo Peninsula Coast, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the Central Coast. In addition, a couple of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued in light of the expected extreme winds for the Monterey and Santa Cruz areas. Over 110,000 customers lost power throughout the Bay Area and Santa Cruz County as a result of the cyclone.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1086656. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.