1 Dead As 'Bomb Cyclone' Ravages Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — A storm morphed into a powerful “bomb cyclone” before slamming into the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least one person dead, numerous roads closed, a derailed Amtrak train, a blown-over big rig on the Bay Bridge, canceled transit including ferries and buses, grounded flights, uprooted trees, and almost 200,000 PG&E customers without electricity.

For weather geeks, Tuesday produced a giddy trifecta of a bomb cyclone, a rare Fujiwhara effect and a sting jet. For everyone else it brought misery.

The storm-related death happened on the Peninsula, where a tree fell onto a van traveling along Alpine Road outside Portola Valley, killing the driver inside. According to The Mercury News, a photographer at the scene reported the victim was driving a plumbing work vehicle.

In Napa County, a tree fell onto a pickup truck traveling on Highway 29, fully blocking the road. Fortunately, that driver was uninjured.

In the East Bay, an Amtrak train crashed into a downed tree a half-mile east of Port Costa, causing a derailment. There were no initial reports of injuries.

Highway 101 in Marin County had lane closures because of a fallen tree. Highway 9 was impassable through the Santa Cruz Mountains.

A big rig blew over on the Bay Bridge blocking multiple lanes. The condition of the driver was not immediately available.

The weather insanity was caused by a “bomb cyclone.” The phenomenon is marked by a rapid drop in pressure.

#MontereyBay buoy today really took a dip. Sea level pressure dropped 24 millabar in just under 17 hours! Yikes! That's a meteorological💣(24 mb or more drop in 24 hours or less). And we had the winds to prove it. That round up will be coming shortly.#cawx pic.twitter.com/EpRoLlmmCc
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) March 22, 2023

But it was not just one low pressure system, at least two were rotating around one another. The rare occurrence is called the Fujiwhara Effect.

Which atmospheric Beyblade will win out? In the end, the result will mean strong winds across the region! Stay alert for any fallen trees and power lines https://t.co/K7j5th18ff
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) March 21, 2023

To make matters worse, the National Weather Service reported a "sting jet," which is an acceleration of winds next to a center of low pressure, reported the LA Times.

The winds roared ashore with more than a dozen gusts recorded at or above hurricane force, taking out trees and power lines. The strongest wind gust was 89 mph, recorded at KNPT Towers. Here is the list of locations and gusts, recorded by the NWS, that met or exceeded hurricane force:

• KNPT Towers 89 MPH
• Point Potrero 88 MPH
• Poo107 Loma Chiquita 85 MPH
• Los Gatos Raws 82 MPH
• Mt. Alison 81 MPH
• Loma Prieta 81 MPH
• Pier One 77 MPH
• Soda Springs Road 76 MPH
• 24.9 SW Greenfield (DRI) 75 MPH
• Mt. Umunhum 75 MPH
• Mines Tower 74 MPH
• Oakland Airport 74 MPH
• Lake Drive 74 MPH
• Mt Diablo 74 MPH

In addition to blocking roads, trees downed by the powerful winds took out power lines. At 2:30 p.m., PG&E was reporting 88,208 customers without power across all five divisions. By 5 p.m. the number had swelled to 188,000.

Bay Area Power Outages (5 p.m. Tuesday)

• East Bay: 82,932 customers
• Peninsula: 43,489 customers
• San Francisco: 34,897 customers
• South Bay: 19,956 customers
• North Bay: 3,183 customers

PG&E said outage activity "picked up substantially" in the early afternoon, as crews responded to a cascade of reports for downed trees, branches and other debris. The utility said its crews were prepared to deploy in full force Tuesday in coordination with the Emergency Operation Center. More than 20 helicopters in the fleet were placed on standby to help with aerial assessments and other support as needed.

Officials ask anyone who sees downed lines or wires to stay away and call 911, then report directly to PG&E at 1-800-743-5002. Residents can also check on outages near them using the online map or by calling 1-800-743-5000.

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Here are a few storm reminders from PG&E:

• PG&E encourages customers to have a plan, prepare for power outages and above all else, stay safe. 
• Customers can get updates on outages in their neighborhood through a variety of channels.  
  • Access our Electric Outage Map online at pge.com/outages  
  • Contact our outage information line at 1-800-743-5002 
  • Customers can also log-in to their account through pge.com and sign up to receive proactive outage alerts through email, text or phone. 
• Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 911 and by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.  
• Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, animals and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.  
• Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup.  
• Have fresh drinking water, ice: Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer during an outage to prevent foods from spoiling. Blue Ice from your picnic cooler also works well in the freezer.  
• Secure outdoor furniture: Deck furniture, lightweight yard structures and decorative lawn items should be secured as they can be blown by high winds and damage overhead power lines and property.  
• Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric generators should make sure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to customers, as well as crews working on power lines. If using portable generators, be sure they are in a well-ventilated area.  
• Turn off appliances: If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.  
• Safely clean up: After the storm has passed, be sure to safely clean up. Never touch downed wires and always call 8-1-1 or visit 811express.com at least two full business days before digging to have all underground utilities safely marked.