More than 6,000 without power Tuesday afternoon as rain, wind and thunder hit county; possibility of light snowfall in mountains

More than 6,000 Santa Cruz County residents were out of power early Tuesday afternoon following multiple days of heavy rain and wind.

According to Pacific Gas & Electric’s outage map, there were 6,306 customers without power as of 12:17 p.m. The vast majority of those were in unincorporated Santa Cruz County, in the Aptos and Corralitos areas. There was no estimated time of restoration, but the latest status update shows that a crew is working on a fix in Aptos.

Several businesses closed as a precaution or due to power outages. Safeway and New Leaf Community Market in Aptos had no power as of early Tuesday afternoon, and Steamer Lane Supply on Santa Cruz’s Westside closed as a precaution, citing the potential for falling trees.

National Weather Service meteorologist Dylan Flynn told Lookout on Tuesday that the city of Santa Cruz received just under 3 inches of rain over the past three days. Mid-County saw even more, with about 5 inches falling in that same time period. The mountain regions got about 5.5 inches.

It was windy throughout the long holiday weekend, said Flynn, but added that gusts have been the strongest since midnight. Winds topped out at 48 mph in lower county elevations near Twin Lakes Beach at about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, but Flynn said winds were still in the 40 mph range as noon drew closer. Winds in the mountains topped out at 66 mph on Tuesday morning.

The agency has issued a flood advisory and a coastal flood advisory, which are set to expire at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. Flynn said he currently does not expect those to be extended.

Rain will continue throughout the week, albeit lighter – and it will be a cold week, Flynn added. Combined with the wet weather, there will be favorable conditions for snow, though not likely much, in the mountains and even on Highways 17 and 9.

“We expect some snow on the highest peaks in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but we don’t expect any accumulating snow outside of those peaks,” he said. “But you could see some snow hit your windshield over the next couple of days.”

The county might not see any rain Friday, but Flynn said wet weather is poised to quickly return between Sunday and next Tuesday. While it’s too far out to predict specific rainfall totals, Flynn said it’s likely to be a similar amount of rain. Because of saturated soils and accumulating water, the agency is keeping an eye on potential landslides and minor flooding.

“We’re not explicitly forecasting large rivers to flood, but there’s a slight chance for that,” said Flynn. “It would have to be if the high end of the rainfall scenario happens next week.”