Strong Wind in North Bay Interior Valleys, California

A 61-year old man was struck by a fallen branch near the 800 block of Howard Street in Santa Rosa. Paramedics took the man to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Around the time of the incident, wind gusts of 25 to 30 miles per hour were reported in a couple of stations within Santa Rosa.

An inside slider pattern developed over May 15 to May 18 as a low pressure system over the Great Basin and high pressure in the eastern Pacific combined to create a strong pressure gradient, resulting in strong gusts and turbulent wind-driven seas. A Beach Hazards Statement was placed in effect for the entire weekend, while two separate Wind Advisories were put in place, one for coastal regions through Saturday and another for the interior mountains of the Bay Area Sunday night through Monday morning. The strong winds caused an estimated 13,000 customers across the Bay Area to lose power.