LOS ANGELES (AP) — Record-setting flooding over three days dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of northern California, a fire left thousands under evacuation orders and warnings in Los Angeles County, forecasters issued the first-ever tornado warning in San Francisco and rough seas tore down part of a wharf in Santa Cruz.
All of this extreme weather has hit California in the past several weeks, showcasing the state’s particular vulnerability to major weather disasters.
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FILE - Firefighters battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
FILE - The Franklin Fire burns in Malibu, Calif., Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Water from the San Francisco Bay spills onto the Embarcadero as a result of high tides and storm-driven waves Dec. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
FILE - Skiers go up a lift in a snowstorm on Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Dec. 14, 2024. (Christian Pondella/Mammoth Mountain Ski Area via AP, File)
The damaged Santa Cruz Wharf is visible in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are visible at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Strong storms Tuesday produced waves that forecasters said could reach 35 feet (10.7 meters) around Santa Cruz. The National Weather Service issued a high surf warning until early evening, cautioning people to stay out of the ocean and away from piers.
For Chandler Price, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, these extreme weather events are both typical and unusual for a La Niña winter, a natural climate cycle that can cause extreme weather across the planet. In California, it means a wetter than average northern region and a drier south.
“So far we’ve seen that pattern play out pretty well,” he said, but added, “obviously, you know, the tornado in the Bay Area was atypical. ... We haven’t seen that before, at least not for a very long time.”
A storm and wind gusts of up to 60 mph (96 kph) prompted the San Francisco tornado warning that extended to neighboring San Mateo County, which went out to about 1 million people earlier this month. The tornado overturned cars and toppled trees and utility poles near a mall in Scotts Valley, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of San Francisco, injuring several people. Tornadoes do occur in California, but they rarely hit populated areas.
In San Francisco, local meteorologists said straight-line winds, not a tornado, felled trees onto cars and streets and damaged roofs.
The storm also dumped significant snow across the northern Sierra Nevada.
F. Martin Ralph, director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California, San Diego, said climate change means that atmospheric rivers, long stretches of wet air that can produce heavy rains, will be responsible for a greater share of California’s yearly precipitation and the periods in between those big events will be drier. These storms are essential for the water supply but can also be dangerous.
“When they are too strong and too many in a row, we end up getting floods,” he said, adding that they drive California’s weather extremes.
During storms this week around Santa Cruz, one man was trapped under debris and died and another person was pulled into the ocean. The surf also splintered off the end of a Santa Cruz municipal wharf that was under construction, plunging three people into the ocean. One swam to shore and the other two were rescued.
A series of atmospheric rivers are expected through the rest of the week. Overall, this pattern is not unusual — these storms regularly produce high winds, heavy snow in the mountains and torrential rain this time of year.
“What’s a little unique about this setup is how closely spaced they are, so there’s not much of a break between them,” said David Lawrence, a meteorologist and emergency response specialist with the National Weather Service.
Bad storms hit the state ahead of Thanksgiving, too, dumping more than a foot of rain (32 centimeters) on Santa Rosa over three record-setting days, according to federal forecasters.
But these storms haven’t stretched very far south, creating dry weather in Southern California that increases fire risk.
One of the state’s most recent blazes, the Franklin Fire left some 20,000 people under evacuation orders and warnings and forced students at Pepperdine University to shelter in place. The blaze was fueled by the Santa Anas, the notorious seasonal winds that blow dry air from the interior toward the coast, pushing back moist ocean breezes.
Most of the destruction occurred in Malibu, a community on the western corner of Los Angeles known for its beautiful bluffs and the Hollywood-famous Zuma Beach. The fire damaged or destroyed 48 structures and is one of nearly 8,000 wildfires that have scorched more than 1 million acres (more than 404,685 hectares) in the Golden State this year.
The Santa Ana winds, which peak in December, have also contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in parts of the southern state, said Price with the National Weather Service.
“Eighty-degree (26.7 Celsius) Christmases are not entirely uncommon around here,” he added, but “there was a couple of high temperature record breaks in the mountains, which are usually less affected by the Santa Anas, and so those were a little unusual.”
Phillis reported from St. Louis.
Associated Press writers Martha Mendoza and Stefanie Dazio contributed to this story.
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FILE - Firefighters battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
FILE - The Franklin Fire burns in Malibu, Calif., Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Water from the San Francisco Bay spills onto the Embarcadero as a result of high tides and storm-driven waves Dec. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
FILE - Skiers go up a lift in a snowstorm on Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Dec. 14, 2024. (Christian Pondella/Mammoth Mountain Ski Area via AP, File)
The damaged Santa Cruz Wharf is visible in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are visible at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Persistent high surf and flooding threats along California’s coast had residents on high alert a day after a major storm was blamed for one man’s death and the partial collapse of a pier, which propelled three people into the Pacific Ocean.
The National Weather Service on Christmas Eve warned of dangerous, large-breaking waves of up to 35 feet (10.7 meters). Its latest high surf warning will be in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches,” the weather service said in a Christmas Eve bulletin.
In Santa Cruz, where a municipal wharf under construction partially collapsed on Monday, most beaches were cordoned off as they were inundated with high surf and debris.
Residents received an alert on their phones Tuesday morning notifying them to “avoid all beaches including coastal overlook areas such as rocks, jetties or cliffs.” It warned powerful waves could sweep entire beaches unexpectedly.
Local officials said there could be further damage to the wharf, but no more pieces broke off overnight.
The wharf collapsed and fell into the ocean midday Monday, taking three people with it. Two people were rescued by lifeguards and a third swam to safety. No one was seriously injured.
Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said in the weeks and months ahead officials will have to assess long-term solutions for protecting the coastal city from the impacts of climate change.
“Hallelujah that no one was hurt in this, which could have been orders of magnitude worse in terms of any injuries to human beings and damage to property onshore and offshore,” he said at a media briefing Tuesday.
“But I think we have somewhat of a question mark as we move through time,” he added. “And I don't think we're by ourselves. I think this is what coastal communities around the world are probably dealing with.”
The structure was in the middle of a $4 million renovation following destructive storms last winter about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of San Francisco.
“It’s a catastrophe for those down at the end of the wharf,” said David Johnston, who was allowed onto the pier on Monday to check on his business, Venture Quest Kayaking.
Tony Elliot, the head of the Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department, estimated that about 150 feet (45 meters) of the end of the wharf fell into the water. It was immediately evacuated and will remain closed indefinitely.
Some of the wharf’s pilings are still in the ocean and remain “serious, serious hazards” to boats, the mayor said. Each piling weighs hundreds of pounds and is being pushed by powerful waves.
“You are risking your life, and those of the people that would need to try and save you by getting in or too close to the water,” the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office said on the social platform X.
Building inspectors were looking at the rest of the pier’s structural integrity.
Some California cities ordered beachfront homes and hotels to evacuate early Monday afternoon as forecasters warned that storm swells would continue to increase throughout the day.
In Watsonville along the Monterey Bay, first responders were called to Sunset State Beach, a state park, around 11:30 a.m. Monday for a report of a man trapped under debris. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office believes a large wave pinned him there. The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The storm’s high surf also likely pulled another man into the Pacific Ocean around noon Monday at Marina State Beach, nearly 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of Watsonville, authorities said. Strong currents and high waves forced searchers to abandon their efforts roughly two hours later as conditions worsened. The man remained missing Monday evening.
In a post on X, the National Weather Service office in Portland, Oregon, said, “It will likely go down as some of the highest surf this winter.”
Dazio reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Sophie Austin in Sacramento contributed.
Birds fly past the Hermosa Beach Pier as storm surf pounds the beach on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
People brave the rain and walk along the Manhattan Beach Pier to watch high surf on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
People stand at the end of the Manhattan Beach Pier and watch high surf pound the pylons on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
People pump water out of a boat in Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A damaged dock piling is pulled out of Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Overturned boats are shown in Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A man walks by overturned boats in Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Trash and damaged boat parts float through Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A building floats in the ocean after a wharf partially collapsed Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Santa Cruz, Calif. (Shmuel Thaler/The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP)
Damage to the Santa Cruz Wharf is seen in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Damage to the Santa Cruz Wharf is seen in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Damage is seen on the end of Santa Cruz Wharf during high surf in Santa Cruz, Calif., Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A building floats in the ocean after a wharf partially collapsed Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Santa Cruz, Calif. (Shmuel Thaler/The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP)
A building floats in the ocean after a wharf partially collapsed Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Santa Cruz, Calif. (Shmuel Thaler/The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP)
A person takes a photo of high surf near the Santa Cruz Wharf in Santa Cruz, Calif., Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A security guard watches the entrance to the closed Santa Cruz Wharf in Santa Cruz, Calif., Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
