Weather

Bomb Cyclone Brings Severe Winds And Floods: CA Weather Photos

Photos below show the scary conditions residents in California face, as damaging winds are forcing many to evacuate.

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A tree toppled by high winds damaged wires and obstructs the southbound and northbound Caltrain train tracks in Burlingame, California on Thursday.
A tree toppled by high winds damaged wires and obstructs the southbound and northbound Caltrain train tracks in Burlingame, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

SAN FRANCISCO — California is being slammed by heavy rainfall and damaging winds, resulting in tens of thousands of homes losing power. On top of that, severe flash flooding is underway and has already claimed the lives of two people. Authorities are currently warning residents to stay put or, if in high-risk coastal areas, to evacuate.

These long plumes of moisture stretching far over the Pacific are being dubbed as atmospheric rivers, leaving dangerous conditions for residents below. “We anticipate that this may be one of the most challenging and impactful series of storms to touch down in California in the last five years,” said Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

"Hurricane-strength winds and flooding downpours" have already led to severe damage — and at least two deaths — across the state, according to AccuWeather.

Find out what's happening in San Franciscofor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Cities including San Francisco and San Leandro even temporarily ran out of sandbags as residents raced to mitigate the storm's fury.

Check out photos below of the severe storm in California and follow the latest on the storm here.

Find out what's happening in San Franciscofor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Heavy storm waves crash along East Cliff Drive in Capitola, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A surfer paddles out at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
People walk by debris that overflowed from the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
People walk by debris that overflowed from San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A playground is filled with flood water at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area following a rainstorm in Los Angeles on Thursday. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Damage to an apartment building can be seen after a tree toppled over in Oakland, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
The Capitola Wharf is seen damaged from storm waves in Captiola, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Damaging hurricane-force winds, surging surf and heavy rains from a powerful “atmospheric river” pounded California on Thursday, knocking out power to tens of thousands, causing flooding, and contributing to the deaths of at least two people, including a child whose home was hit by a falling tree. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
In this photo provided by the California Department of Water Resources, engineer Anthony Burdock, left, and forecasting chief Sean de Guzman work the measurement phase of the first media snow survey of the season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California on Tuesday. The snowpack in California's mountains is off to one of its best starts in 40 years, officials announced Tuesday, offering hope that the drought-stricken state could soon see relief in the spring when the snow melts and flows into reservoirs that provide water for drinking and farming. (Kenneth James/California Department of Water Resources via AP)
Ifeyinwa Nzerem loads sandbags into her car after picking them up from an emergency distribution site to prepare her home for an upcoming storm on Tuesday in San Francisco. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Fernando Bizarro, left, collects sandbags from an emergency distribution center to prepare for an upcoming storm on Tuesday in San Francisco. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
People line up in their vehicles as workers verify their addresses, for eligibility to receive free sandbags from an emergency distribution center to prepare for an upcoming storm in San Francisco. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Owner Matthew Coric climbs over a metal flood gate his family members helped install in front of Pink Onion, a pizzeria in the Mission District in San Francisco on Tuesday. Pink Onion saw serious flooding and damage Saturday. Coric and family members were preparing for an upcoming storm. (Salgu Wissmath/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
In this photo provided by Caltrans District 1, crews work at removing multiple fallen trees blocking U.S. Highway 101 in Humboldt County near Trinidad, California on Wednesday. A major winter storm approached California on Wednesday causing crews to rush to clear storm drains in preparation for flooding and strong winds, as parts of the Midwest dealt with snow, ice or tornadoes, and the South recovered from strong overnight storms. (Caltrans District 1 via AP)
A man fills sandbags on Wednesday in Pacifica, California. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
A police officer blocks a street after some residents in the Seacliff neighborhood were evacuated due to possible landslides on Wednesday in Richmond, California. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A person walks across California Street in San Francisco on Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
People wearing rain ponchos walk across Kearny Street in San Francisco on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
The canopy of gas station, toppled by strong winds, rests at an angle on Wednesday in South San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
The canopy of gas station, toppled by strong winds, rests at an angle on Wednesday in South San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
An empty vehicle is surrounded by floodwaters on a road in Oakland, California on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Miles Gomez, 9, plays with his twin brother, Edison, after a series of storms blasted communities surrounding South Lake Tahoe, California on Wednesday. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Huge amounts of snow are seen after a series of storms blasted communities surrounding South Lake Tahoe, California on Wednesday. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A woman, who chose to remain anonymous, fills bags of sand offered at South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue in South Lake Tahoe, California on Wednesday. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Cars sit stuck in a flooded underpass at Webster St. and 34th St. that has been flooded since this weekend's storm in Oakland, California on Wednesday. (Salgu Wissmath/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A woman walks with an umbrella during a rainstorm in Seal Beach, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

A flooded beach-side parking lot in front of beachfront homes is seen during a rainstorm in Seal Beach, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

A tree toppled by high winds damaged wires and obstructs the southbound and northbound Caltrain train tracks in Burlingame, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A tree toppled by high winds damaged wires and obstructs the southbound and northbound Caltrain train tracks in Burlingame, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A tree toppled by high winds damaged wires and obstructs the southbound and northbound Caltrain train tracks in Burlingame, California on Thursday. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A crew works to remove fallen trees outside an entrance to the main public library in San Francisco on Thursday. (AP Photo/Olga Rodriguez)


RELATED: 2023 Off To Wild Weather Start: See The Photos

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

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