California: ‘Bomb cyclone’ brings mudslides and flooding across the West Coast

A powerful storm called the “bomb cyclone” has caused devastation in California, triggering mudslides and flooding.

Heavy winds over 50mph toppled utility poles and downed trees on Sunday night in the San Francisco Bay Area, leaving tens of thousands of local residents without power.

Mark Chenard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said up to ten inches of rain could still fall across the West Coast.

He described the storm as a “bomb cyclone” which is caused when the pressure in the atmosphere falls quickly.

He added: “It’s an atmospheric river already moving through Northern California.”

Mr Chenard warned California’s frequent wildfires had increased the risk of flash flooding.

He continued: “Burn scars, that’s the area where the water tends to run off quicker, so that’s where the biggest flash-flood risks are. Warnings are of life-threatening flash flooding in and around the burn scars.”

The town of Kentfield in Marin County had recorded nine inches of rain by midday on Sunday, authorities said. Other areas of the North Bay, such as Napa and Santa Rosa, received more than four inches.

Multiple mudslides were already reported in some of the 570,000 acres blackened by the Dixie Fire in the Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of San Francisco.

Much of the region is in severe, extreme or exceptional drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. The heavy downpour is expected to continue through until Tuesday.

Sandbags were being handed out and evacuation centers were opened in the state capital, Sacramento.

The Sacramento Office of Emergency Service tweeted: "Remember - never drive through standing water! Turn around, don’t drown!"

Mr Chenard said snow was expected in higher elevations.

He said: “It’s a pretty impressive storm system.

“It’s happening now and it’s going to continue into the day tomorrow. It will be gradually shifting southward across Central California tonight and tomorrow.”

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