North sees strong winds while central coast at risk of ‘significant flooding’ as storm moves south toward Los Angeles
The latest in a series of wet winter storms gained strength in California early on Monday, with forecasters warning of possible flooding, hail, strong winds and even brief tornadoes as the system moves south over the next few days.
Gusts topped 30mph (48kph) in Oakland and San Jose as a mild cold front late on Saturday gave way to a more powerful storm on Sunday, according to the meteorologist Brayden Murdock with the National Weather Service office in San Francisco.
“The winds are here and getting stronger, and the rains will follow quickly,” he said on Sunday afternoon.
California’s central coast is at risk of “significant flooding”, with up to 5in (12cm) of rain predicted for many areas, according to the weather service. Isolated rain totals of 10in are possible in the Santa Lucia and Santa Ynez mountain ranges as the storm heads toward greater Los Angeles.
