Bomb cyclone meets atmospheric river: When will it hit the Bay Area?
It may be sunny skies Tuesday, but an atmospheric river, supercharged through "bombogenesis," is about to hit the Bay Area. The weather phenomenon is barreling toward the West Coast and has plans to stick around Northern California for days, according to the latest forecasts.
(KRON) – It may be sunny skies Tuesday, but an atmospheric river, supercharged through "bombogenesis," is about to hit the Bay Area. The weather phenomenon is barreling toward the West Coast and has plans to stick around Northern California for days, according to the latest forecasts.
The first significant storm of the season is a strong one – it has intensified quickly through a process known as "bombogenesis" or "explosive cyclogenesis." This happens when a low pressure cyclone rapidly strengthens, creating a "bomb cyclone."
The "bomb cyclone" is being carried toward the the West Coast on a long atmospheric river.
"This is going to be an impactful event," Richard Bann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center, told the Associated Press.
The atmospheric river will start dropping rain over the North Bay Wednesday morning, KRON meteorologist John Shrable said. A flood watch has already been issues for three Bay Area counties – Sonoma, Napa and Marin – starting 4 a.m. Wednesday.
By Wednesday afternoon, rain will be making its way through the rest of the Bay Area, but the worst of it is still concentrated in the North Bay. While places like Santa Rosa may see more than 7 inches of rain by Friday morning, San Jose may only see 0.12 inches.
But the story doesn't end there. Things will get wetter for the entire Bay Area as the atmospheric river looks like it will stall out and linger in the region through early next week.
Rain will continue Saturday, Sunday and Monday, bringing more than an inch of rain to the South Bay, about 2 inches to the East Bay and Peninsula, and even more rain – potentially upwards of 10 inches – to parts of the North Bay. (See the forecast video at the top of this story for more details.)
"We are expecting unsettled conditions to last until early next week," said Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Bay Area office. "It won't dry out completely until early next week, and potentially into the middle of next week."
The Sierra is also expected to see a healthy dumping of snow. A winter storm warning goes into effect starting Wednesday.
The Northern Californian coast could also see rock slides and debris flow, the National Weather Service warned.
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