Weather warnings remain in place as a bomb cyclone continues to churn over the Pacific, bringing dangerous conditions to California, including waves as high as 22 feet in the San Francisco area.
The bomb cyclone brought dangerous weather conditions across the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, and multiple winter weather-related warnings remained in place as of Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The bomb cyclone ushered in an atmospheric river, which brought a deluge to California.
A bomb cyclone occurs when a storm’s pressure drops quickly, which intensifies the storm and ramps up wind gusts. Atmospheric rivers are a “long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A stock photo shows waves crashing against the shore near exposed cliffs at Bodega Bay in California’s Sonoma County. This week, swimmers in San Francisco were advised to stay out of the water as waves…
A stock photo shows waves crashing against the shore near exposed cliffs at Bodega Bay in California’s Sonoma County. This week, swimmers in San Francisco were advised to stay out of the water as waves hit 22 feet.
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One weather alert still in place is a high surf advisory issued by the NWS office in San Francisco.
The advisory was issued early Thursday morning and will remain in place until 6 a.m. local time on Friday. The advisory covers San Francisco; the coastal parts of North Bay, including Point Reyes National Seashore; the San Francisco Peninsula coast; and southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur.
“Large breaking waves between 14 to 19 ft along southwest facing beaches and between 19 to 22 ft along well exposed west facing beaches,” the advisory said. “Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion. Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches.”
Cold water also can prove fatal.
“Sudden immersion in cold water can result in cold water shock even for the most experienced swimmers,” the advisory said. “Cold water shock can result in dramatic changes in breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, greatly increasing the risk of drowning in rough open waters.”
The advisory went on to say that inexperienced swimmers should stay out of the water because of the dangerous conditions.
Newsweek reached out to the NWS Bay Area office by phone for comment.
Flood-related weather alerts remain in place across California as well, in addition to a winter storm warning as rain and snow continue to pummel the Golden State.
As much as 10 inches of rain fell in some parts of the Bay Area forecast region, with some areas breaking records.
“The Sonoma County Airport received 6.92″ of rain yesterday, breaking both the daily record (1.08″ from 11/20/2012), and the all time record (6.09″ from 10/24/2021). Records here go back to 1998,” NWS Bay Area posted on X (formerly Twitter).
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