Quick Take
Nearly 20,000 PG&E customers were without electricity Saturday morning after strong winds and rain whipped through the county early Saturday morning.
A powerful storm swept through Santa Cruz County and much of California’s Central Coast early Saturday morning, leaving nearly 20,000 local residents without power and prompting officials to issue warnings about high winds and dangerous surf conditions.
The storm, which brought strong winds and downed trees throughout the region, caused 146 separate power outages across the county, Pacific Gas & Electric reported Saturday.
Most of the 19,900 customers without electricity were in unincorporated parts of the county, including about 5,000 in the Aptos area and nearly 3,000 in the Watsonville area, along with parts of Felton and Boulder Creek. Another 2,700 customers lost power in the city of Santa Cruz, while 207 outages were reported in Scotts Valley, according to PG&E.
Throughout the region, local authorities reported storm-related hazards. A Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office dispatcher who declined to give her name told Lookout on Saturday that the office has received many calls of downed trees and power lines throughout the morning, most of which are from the mountain communities. She added that reports of downed trees are “coming from across the county.”
Witnesses reported seeing a tornado touch down near Mount Hermon Road in Scotts Valley Saturday afternoon, flipping cars and bringing down trees and utility poles. Joanne Guzman, co-owner of Bruno’s Bar and Grill in Scotts Valley said an employee spotted what appeared to be a funnel cloud from the window of the restaurant and they rushed to find footage of it captured by their security cameras.
National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Mehle told Lookout that the agency had confirmed the tornado based on reports from social media and news outlets.
Just before 1:30 p.m., the National Weather Service warned of a major thunderstorm approaching Ben Lomond, with 60 mph wind gusts and nickel-sized hail possible for much of the county through 2 p.m. The severe thunderstorm warning was cancelled by around 2 p.m.
Photographer Mark Woodward, who goes by Native Santa Cruz on Twitter, posted video of large waves crashing on West Cliff Drive.
The California Highway Patrol reported that Graham Hill Road between Summit Avenue and Roaring Camp in the Scotts Valley area was closed because of a fallen tree and power lines lying on the road. In the Boulder Creek area, Highway 9 at Buck Knoll Road was also closed because of trees that had fallen on power lines.
In Watsonville, city officials warned drivers of numerous downed trees on local roads. However, the county reported just one storm-related local road closure — a “soft” closure on a section of Graham Hill Road in Scotts Valley for downed trees affecting power lines. A soft closure typically means that a road is open to local traffic only.
The severe weather coincides with the year’s final king tides, prompting officials to close the lower parking lot at Seacliff State Beach through the weekend. The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood advisory for the region through Monday, and a high surf advisory until 7 p.m. Saturday, with breaking waves of more than 20 feet. “There are no good reasons to be near the water today,” the weather agency warned, citing increased risks of sneaker waves and rip currents.
The longer-range NWS forecast showed showers throughout the day, mostly before 4 p.m., with wind gusts reaching 22 mph. There was a 20% chance of showers before 10 p.m. Saturday night. Weather forecasters were predicting less than one-tenth of an inch of rain.
The wet weather is poised to continue through the beginning of the week, with more showers possible from early Monday morning through Monday night. In total, the weather agency was predicting less than an inch of new precipitation on Monday.
The storm system’s effects extended well beyond Santa Cruz County, prompting weather forecasters to issue a tornado warning for San Francisco early Saturday morning. The warning was later canceled as the brunt of the storm moved toward northeastern California.
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