California is bracing for a life-threatening Pineapple Express storm on Wednesday that is expected to bring whipping winds, flooding, power outages and heavy rainfall into Thursday.
The atmospheric river and bomb cyclone targeting the region could become one of the more impactful storms to strike the state in years, according to FOX Weather, with some evacuation orders issued already.
"This could be historic," Fox News' senior meteorologist Janice Dean said.
The National Weather Service office in the Bay Area warned that while rainfall would be light throughout the morning, residents should not let their guard down, as thunderstorms and strong winds were expected later in the day during a "brutal system."
High wind warnings were posted across the entire Bay Area and the Central Coast through 10 a.m. PT on Thursday, and the office advised Californians to prepare for downed trees and flooding along the Russian River near Guerneville on Thursday.
The NWS in Sacramento said walloping rain and mountain snow would develop Wednesday, becoming heavy overnight.
"Heavy snow returns Wednesday – as a strong system moves through the area. Snowfall amounts up to 1-3 feet are possible. Expect chain controls, dangerous travel, strong winds and periods of whiteout conditions. Mountain travel is HIGHLY discouraged!" the office tweeted.
It also warned about impassable roadways due to flooding and rises on creeks, streams and rivers, telling people to stay alert and be especially cautious driving at night.
A flash flood watch for possible debris flow was issued in several burn scars and a high wind warning was in effect for most of the interior of northern California.
"Damaging wind gusts up to 45-60 mph are expected in the valley and foothills. Be prepared for widespread power outages, downed trees [and] very difficult driving conditions," the NWS said.
Local gusts were alerted to be around 70 miles per hour for the coast and highest peaks.
Outage tracker PowerOutage.US showed that more than 12,800 customers were without power early Wednesday.
This comes just days after a record-breaking storm brought similar impacts to much of the Golden State.
December was one of the wettest on record in many northern California locations, and Stockton and Modesto both had their wettest Decembers ever.
California officials assured that they were working to address concerns, with the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeting that the state operations center was at its highest emergency level and that the flood operations center was coordinating getting sandbags to locals.
"We’re setting up shelters & are ready to deploy staff to hospitals [and] ambulance strike teams. Stay safe!" it said.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a tweet that the rain on New Year's Eve had been "significantly higher than projected" and flooding killed one person in the region, washed away a section of a levee system and prompted the evacuation of more than 1,000 inmates in a county jail.
"To prepare, we will activate the citywide Emergency Operations Center, in order to clear storm drains, distribute sandbags, respond to service requests and ensure residents are prepared," she said.
Rainfall in downtown San Francisco hit 5.46 inches on New Year’s Eve, making it the second-wettest day on record, behind a November 1994 deluge, the National Weather Service said.
The rain was welcomed in drought-stricken California as the past three years have been the state’s driest on record.
Most of the state’s major reservoirs were still well below their historical averages.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
