A storm billed as the one of the most powerful to hit California in years began living up to the hype Thursday, with powerful winds uprooting trees and rain pouring over the northern half of the state.
Forecasters said a wind gust at Mount Lincoln, northwest of Tahoe, was clocked at 107 mph and a big rig ran over a tree on Interstate 80 in Contra Costa County, temporarily blocking three lanes.
"The wind is actually pretty intense this morning," said Brian Garcia, a senior forecaster at the National Weather Service's Eureka office. "There's quite a bit of rain."
Over the last 24 hours, the northern-most block of the state has seen up to 4 inches of rain and winds averaging more than 30 mph. Mt. Diablo had a 68 mph wind gust and the Navarro River in Mendocino County is expected to swell from 10 feet to 30 feet by Friday, officials said. Flash flood advisories were issued for Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties early Thursday.
Forecasters estimated up to 8 inches of rain could drop in some areas.
The storm, which has an "atmospheric river" known as the Pineapple Express that can be up to 400 miles wide, is twice as strong as last week's storm. That storm caused havoc in Southern California and trapped more than a dozen people on flooded roadways, said meteorologist Bill Rasch.
The weather service has also issued a blizzard warning for parts of Northern California. The last time the National Weather Service in Sacramento issued a blizzard warning was Jan. 4, 2008, Rasch said.
The storm's approach also triggered widespread closures for Bay Area schools. The San Francisco and Oakland school districts canceled Thursday classes and the Novato Unified School District in Marin County closed its schools for the rest of the week, district officials announced. Schools near Chico in Glenn County also canceled school for Thursday.
Calling the decision to cancel school a serious one, San Francisco Unified School District Supt. Richard A. Carranza said in a statement that the storms could cause power outages and jeopardize students' safety.
"We don't want to risk having our students injured or seriously delayed transporting to and from school," Carranza said.
San Joaquin Delta College announced that its three campuses around the Stockton area were closed until Friday morning, when final exams were scheduled.
The wet and windy weather up north is just foreshadowing what's in store for Southern California, forecasters say.
"We're going to get that storm. It's coming our way," said meteorologist Curt Kaplan. "We're going to see winds increase later today and strong rain after midnight."
Forecasters predict that Los Angeles could see 2 inches of rain early Friday and winds up to 45 mph.
Thunderstorms could pound Southern California's mountains, too, he said. Flash floods are possible in burned out areas along the San Gabriel Mountain foothills.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times7:09 a.m.: New details added.
This post was first published at 6:47 a.m.
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