Quick Take
More than 11,000 Santa Cruz County residents were out of power as of late Wednesday morning after the first of two storms brought strong winds to the region. National Weather Service meteorologists say similar conditions are expected Wednesday night, along with 2 to 4 inches of rain by Friday evening.
Strong winds took out power for thousands of Santa Cruz County residents overnight Tuesday into Wednesday as the first of two strong storms passed through the region.
According to Pacific Gas & Electric’s outage map, 11,310 county residents did not have power as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. More than 10,000 of those were in unincorporated areas of the county, including Corralitos, Ben Lomond, Brookdale, Davenport and Bonny Doon. Due to widespread outages across the county and Central Coast, there was no estimated time for restoration.
National Weather Service meteorologist Dylan Flynn told Lookout on Wednesday morning that Wednesday night heading into Christmas morning will “basically be a repeat of last night.” He pointed to data that showed the strongest gusts in the county reaching speeds in the mid- to high 50s mph along the coast and in the mountains.
“The only real difference is that the winds are going to last longer into the morning [on Thursday],” he said. “Today, they cleared up pretty quickly in the morning, but tomorrow morning when people are opening their presents, it will still be pretty windy.”
Flynn added that somewhere between 2 and 4 inches of rain is expected between Wednesday and Friday evening. By the weekend, he said, the weather should be largely cleared up, albeit turning colder.
A high wind warning is in effect for the Monterey Bay area from 8 p.m. Wednesday to 10 a.m. Thursday. Additionally, a flood watch is in effect through Friday evening, and a beach hazards statement is in effect through 4 a.m. Friday.
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