Parade Of Major Storms Headed For San Ramon; Aerial Flood Watch Issued

SAN RAMON, CA — On the heels of an atmospheric river that unloaded on the Bay Area earlier this week, the region is bracing for a parade of powerful winter storms that will take us into the New Year.

The first of two storms is expected to arrive in the Bay Area Wednesday night. It will be followed by a more powerful storm later this week that will take us into the New Year, according to the National Weather Service, when San Ramon and much of Northern California have been put on an aerial flood watch from Friday at 10 p.m. to Saturday at 10 p.m.

"Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks," the National Weather Service said. "Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Storm drains and ditches may become clogged with debris."

The first storm, which is expected to last through Thursday, is expected to bring 0.08 inches to San Ramon and 3/4 of an inch of rain to most of the Bay Area, with some coastal North Bay mountains likely to see 1 to 2 inches, NWS Meteorologist Cindy Palmer told Patch.

The second storm is expected to arrive Friday night and bring heavy rains and high winds through Saturday and into Sunday, with precipitation comparable to the atmospheric river earlier this week that brought up to six inches of the wet to stuff to parts of the Bay Area including Mount Tamalpais.

San Ramon can expect to see a total of 1.91 inches of rain on Friday and Saturday, according to AccuWeather, and gusts up to 46 mph.

“This is a very strong system,” Palmer said. “It looks very similar to what we just had.”

The important difference between the two storms is that the one expected to arrive later this week is expected to unload on ground that’s already saturated, and the excessive runoff could flood low-lying areas, particularly in some of the creeks and rivers of Marin, Napa, Sonoma, and Santa Cruz counties.

The Santa Cruz Mountains, which span Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, is especially susceptible to landslides in the burn-scarred areas of the CZU lightning fire.

“If you have gutters or storm drains that need to be cleared, now is the time to prepare,” Palmer said.