Latest on winter storm – The Mercury News

Nathaniel Wilkerson, 10, of Los Gatos, plays in the snow at Redwood Estates Neighborhood Park in Redwood Estates, Calif. Thursday, February 23, 2023. Snow fell overnight in the Santa Cruz Mountains. (Patrick Tehan/Bay Area News Group)

Cold temperatures and strong winds hit the Bay Area Thursday night as an intense, rare winter storm swept through the region that could bring several inches of snow in some areas.

The cold weather system hit the North Bay first Thursday evening and is expected to move south overnight into Friday morning.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and wind alerts across the Bay Area Thursday night through Friday morning, with widespread snow, hail, thunderstorms and gusty winds in the forecast that could make Friday morning’s commute unsafe.

“We don’t often get cold air like this into California,” Brooke Bingaman, a weather forecaster with the National Weather Service, said of the “anomalous” storm.

Temperatures in Santa Rosa fell to 28 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday, hitting previous record lows on that day in 2022, 1955 and 1911, the NWS said.

Areas south of the North Bay mostly stayed above 40 degrees, Bingaman said, with temperatures dropping to 46 degrees Fahrenheit in Oakland and between 41 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit in San Jose. The peninsula peaked in the low 40’s with higher elevations in the high 30’s.

“We’re seeing snow already falling in northwestern California, even down to the coast in Humboldt and Mendocino counties, and it’s sinking into the Bay Area,” NWS meteorologist Brian Garcia said in a video statement.

Snow has already begun to fall in the mountains of Napa County, and official snowfall reports are expected to arrive Friday morning. Bingaman said as the weather system moves south, it will be accompanied by snow, thunderstorms and winds.

Highway 29 was closed between Tubbs Lane in Calistoga and Bradford Road around 8 p.m. Thursday due to dangerous road conditions and vehicle slippage, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Snow accumulations are expected to be up to 12 inches in the hills around the bay and up to a foot in the hills east of San Jose, up to 6 inches in the hills of the East Bay and up to 6 inches in the Santa Cruz Mountains to be 7 inches .

In the North Bay, the NWS reported that cars got stuck in the snow near Cloverdale in northern Sonoma County. The NWS issued a special weather statement to take cover at Petaluma, Inverness and Point Reyes Station due to hail and 30-mile winds until 8:45 p.m. Thursday evening.

The NWS reported lightning, thunderstorms and high winds in Marin County Thursday evening.

Strong winds are expected to bring waves up to 14 feet high on the Bay Area’s south shore, and a gale warning is in effect for small boats until 9 p.m. The San Mateo Port District warns boaters to exercise caution as conditions could capsize or damage vessels.

BART trains will be delayed up to 20 minutes starting Thursday evening. The transport agency said its trains were running at slower speeds due to the weather conditions and that passengers should allow for longer travel times.

Snow and gusty winds caused power outages across the Bay Area this week and temporarily closed Highway 101 for power line repairs. As of Thursday night, thousands of Pacific Gas and Electric customers along the peninsula were without power, as were residents of San Jose and the Santa Cruz Mountains.

“One of our bigger concerns is the fact that winds will increase as the system moves overnight,” Bingaman said. “It’s a cold mass of air, so it’s going to be cold in the morning. When people lose power because trees have fallen and hit the power line, it gets really cold for people.”

Wind gusts are estimated to reach up to 40 mph at lower elevations and 80 mph in the mountains. Bingaman said if there are widespread outages, residents could be without power for days.

Garcia said the highest snowfall would likely be above 2,000 to 2,500 feet, although flakes could reach the valley floors and shoreline.

“There’s a chance we’ll be able to see snow all the way down to the valley floors and even to the coast, but we have a very, very low chance, I’d say about 5%, that we’re going to see snow.” accumulates snow on the coast,” Garcia said.

Brian Archbold of Redwood City was skiing along Highway 35 in Palo Alto Thursday morning where snow depth reached nearly 4 inches. Archbold said he was on his way to Tahoe to hit the slopes when he stopped, first in Saratoga, then Palo Alto, to ski down the hills.

“I literally skied in Palo Alto today,” said Archbold. “The highway patrol and the sheriff gave me a fist pump.”