Santa Cruz County has taken a battering over the past 10 days, and Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Capitola on Tuesday, witnessing the damage. To the questions of state aid, he acknowledged that small businesses might have to wade through a number of different resources to find disaster relief, but said his office will put together “a sheet” with more streamlined information on resources.
Weather
Many Santa Cruz County schools resume Wednesday, though SLV, some Pajaro Valley schools to remain closed
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District will open most of its schools Wednesday after closing many campuses because of storms, though several PVUSD schools affected by ongoing evacuation warnings will remain closed. After planning to reopen, the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District canceled classes Wednesday amid downed trees and other logistical issues. Santa Cruz City Schools will have regular instruction Wednesday.
Pajaro River levee system to undergo emergency repairs Wednesday after showing signs of seepage
The County of Santa Cruz said late Tuesday that it would carry out emergency repairs to the Pajaro River levee system, which was showing signs of seepage after more than a week of heavy rains. The stretch of river that runs through Watsonville has continued to steadily rise since Monday and measured over 31 feet Tuesday afternoon (32 feet is considered flood stage) after more storms swept through Santa Cruz County.
UCSC power restored and in-person instruction to resume Wednesday after storms hit Santa Cruz County
UC Santa Cruz will resume in-person instruction Wednesday and power has been restored, after widespread storms across Santa Cruz County caused some areas of campus to lose power Monday and forced the school to move to remote instruction Monday and Tuesday.
Santa Cruz County storms: Where we stand Tuesday
Gov. Gavin Newsom was set to tour storm-damaged parts of Capitola Village on Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office was responding to an overwhelming number of calls about downed trees, more than 19,000 people were without power, 64 county roads had closures, and the Pajaro River stood at 31 feet and rising.
Riders on the storm: Santa Cruz surfers’ yin-yang relationship with historic megaswell events
There is much cleanup and rebuilding to be done after the storms battering Santa Cruz County, damage that hadn’t been seen for decades. There is also an epic sandbar building up off the San Lorenzo rivermouth. It’s a complex equation for those who live their best Santa Cruz lives tapping into the ocean’s energy and often risking their own personal safety for reasons few others could understand.
UC Santa Cruz loses some power, will continue remote instruction through Tuesday
UC Santa Cruz moved classes to emergency remote or online instruction Monday and Tuesday after the recent storms created dangerous conditions across the county and led to power outages for some living on campus.
Santa Cruz’s bomb cyclones might be gone — but don’t relax yet
Much of Santa Cruz County fared better than worse-case scenarios, but road blockages, lots of localized flooding have caused a fair amount of pain. With new ocean swells set to join the nonstop precipitation — 1.5 inches of rain and 50 mph winds to the coastal areas and up to 3 inches of rain and 60 mph winds in the mountains in the next 24 hours — all bets are off on how much dislocation is ahead of us.
‘The worst of it still in front of us’ as new storms set to pound a rain-weary California
More than 400,000 customers were without power in California as the latest powerful winter storm pushed through, elevating flooding danger.
Community Foundation Santa Cruz County’s new match for Disaster Fund
Some Californians received a test of the earthquake early-warning system seven hours before the appointed time, waking…

