First-Ever ‘Hurricane-Force Wind’ Warning Issued for Bay Area

Parts of California are facing record-breaking wind speeds as a huge atmospheric river storm slams into the coast, and an expert told Newsweek what to expect during the heightened summer storm season.

Extremely powerful winds and vast volumes of rainfall are wreaking havoc across the state, with wind speeds being warned to hit “hurricane-force” on the central coast—between San Francisco and Los Angeles—by the National Weather Service (NWS) Bay Area for the first time since records began.

“Extremely Dangerous Winds,” NWS Bay Area posted to X on Sunday. “The waters from the Big Sur Coast to 60 nautical miles out have been upgraded to Hurricane Force Wind Warnings for winds 35 to 55 kt with gusts up to 80 knots (roughly 92 mph).”

The atmospheric river storm is the second to hit California in only a week, and is expected to bring even worse weather than the first due to it moving more slowly across the state.

Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow weather systems that form over the tropics, and contain huge volumes of water vapor. The storm that hit California early last week was known as a Pineapple Express, as it originated near Hawaii.

The current storm brings with it intense winds, with gusts in the 80-90mph range being forecast in the mountains and foothills, and wind advisories and high wind warnings being in place for nearly 30 million people across the state. High winds like these can blow down trees and power lines, causing power outages.

The storm has also brought with it extremely heavy rainfall, leading to several areas across California to flood.

“Life threatening and damaging Flash Flooding likely across much of central/southern California through Monday,” the NWS said in a February 4 forecast discussion. “High rain rates over very vulnerable/primed surfaces will lead to flash flooding tonight across portions of central and southern California, which is why there’s a Moderate Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 3/4) for this area with an embedded High Risk (level 4/4) area over parts of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties”

Rainfall rates may be as high as an inch an hour, resulting in totals between 5 and 8 inches being possible, with 48-hour totals reaching as much as 8 to 14 inches for some locations. Many rivers are expected to burst their banks and cause further flash flooding.

Combined with last week’s storm, Los Angeles may see nearly a year’s worth of rainfall in a single week. The flash floods triggered by the storm’s rainfall put local residents at risk if they venture out of the house on foot or in a car.

“Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding,” the NWS said in an advisory on Sunday night. “Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.”

Communities in certain parts of Santa Barbara, San José, Los Angeles, and Ventura Counties have been issued mandatory evacuation notices. There are fears that the rainfall may also trigger landslides in some areas.

“Increasingly saturated conditions and ongoing flooding will be further exacerbated by this additional rainfall, continuing the threat for life-threatening, locally catastrophic flash, urban, and small stream flooding, as well as a threat for debris flows and mudslides,” the NWS said on Monday morning.

As the world warms due to the effects of climate change, there are fears that storms like this one and hurricanes during the summer months may get increasingly stronger and more damaging, though scientists aren’t entirely sure if they will become more common than they are now.

“As far as climate change is concerned, the storms may have more power provided from higher water vapor and access to deeper moisture and warmth,” Esther Mullens, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Florida, told Newsweek. “However the jury is still out on whether the overall frequency of such events will change. They are a normal feature of winter season weather and also heavily influenced by natural climate variability, so separating the causes for specific cases is a complex task.”

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