Bay Area Braces For More Extreme Weather After Historic Storm

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA —Less than 48 hours after experiencing a historic drenching, the Bay Area is already bracing for another storm that could pack an even bigger wallop, the National Weather Service said.

Another atmospheric river-fueled storm projected to arrive as soon as Wednesday and into Thursday has already prompted an NWS alert for the possibility of widespread flooding and debris flow in burn scar areas.

Saturday’s storm unloaded 5.44 inches of rain in San Francisco, nearly eclipsing a record of 5.54 inches (Nov. 5, 1994) and causing widespread flooding that prompted the closure of a major freeway in the Peninsula along with untold property damage.

The Bay Area woke up to light to moderate rain Monday after enjoying a brief respite from a series of storms under mostly sunny skies on New Year's Day.

Some rain is expected to persist in the Bay Area throughout the day Monday, but that's not what's grabbed the attention of local forecasters.

“An atmospheric river, similar in strength or stronger than the New Year’s Eve storm will spread heavy rain across the region as early as Wednesday through Thursday,” the NWS alert said.

The storm could bring a massive 8 to 10 inches of the wet stuff the Bay Area’s highest elevations in Marin, Napa, Sonoma and Santa Cruz counties and 2 to 4 inches at lower elevations, according to the NWS.

The storm is expected to bring 2 for 4 inches to most of the Bay Area with hills likely to see 3 to 6 inches of rain, and wind gusts of up to 55 mph are possible in some areas

“Given the saturated soils and recent rains we can expect rapid responses on smaller creeks with quick rises on the mainstem rivers Wednesday through Friday,” the NWS said.

“This system will result in an increased risk of mudslides and debris flows across the region and especially over recent wildfire burn areas.”

Another major storm is expected to arrive this weekend, and long-range forecasts are predicting the high likelihood of more rain through mid-January.

Colin McCarthy, a UC Davis atmospheric science student who reports on the weather on his viral @US_Stormwatch Twitter account, believes the precipitation the region desperately needs could be problematic for some areas.

“The storm parade is far from over for California, with 3 more atmospheric rivers set to slam the state over the next 10 days,” McCarthy tweeted.

“Starting to get concerned about more widespread severe flooding potential in NorCal as rainfall amounts of 6-12+ inches would cause serious issues.”

Climate scientist Daniel Swain echoed McCarthy’s concerns, noting the storm’s potential intensity is a concern.

“My main concern, right now, is portion of this that will fall rather quickly over 6-8 hour period on Wed as another strong storm makes landfall,” Swain said in a reply to McCarthy’s tweet.

“There will be pretty high potential for flooding, including some serious/life-threatening flooding, across broad swath of NorCal. #CAwx”

For updated forecasts visit AccuWeather