7 a.m. Update
Hundreds of thousands of Northern Californians will be waking up this morning without power as a massive winter storm barreled across the region, and damage wreaked by intense wind and rains promises to be significant.
In the Sacramento area, SMUD currently estimates that more than 84,000 customers are without power, a number that was north of 160,000 earlier Wednesday morning.
The Arden-Arcade neighborhood is currently the most affected, with some 31,000 households out of power. PG&E customers are also seeing outages in West Sacramento, Davis and throughout Yolo County.
The storm brought extreme winds, peaking at near 60 miles per hour, which reportedly have downed trees and power lines throughout the region.
11:30 p.m. Update
Northern California’s first major storm of the year is bringing with it relentless winds, causing power outages throughout the region and untold damage due to felled trees and power lines.
In Sacramento, SMUD at one point registered more than 76,000 customers without power, with few communities spared.
Thousands of PG&E customers from West Sacramento to Woodland also experienced power outages.
The storm, an atmospheric weather system that is expected to cause flash floods and blizzard conditions beginning Tuesday night and possibly through Friday. Michelle Mead with the National Weather Service told CapRadio that she anticipated “a crazy storm” and urged residents to “stay hunkered down, stay home and stay prepared.”
On Tuesday night, sustained winds of nearly 40 miles per hour were recorded at the Sacramento International Airport, with gusts 58 mph.
The Sacramento region can expect high winds and rain to sustain until at least 4 a.m., according to forecasts.
To learn more about power outages, visit SMUD or PG&E. To report flooding or learn more about storm preparedness, visit the Sacramento County’s “Storm Ready” page.
Copyright 2021, Capitol Public Radio
