MENDOCINO Co., 11/8/21 — The National Weather Service (NWS) in Eureka is forecasting a fast-moving storm that will bring rain and wind to Mendocino County this afternoon with the worst of it peaking between 9 p.m. and midnight. The coast could see an inch of rain with as much as 1.5 to 2 inches for inland locations at higher elevations, said meteorologist Scott Carroll.
“It’s going to be a pretty brief but strong period of wind coming in,” Carroll said. The storm could cause downed trees and power lines as well as localized flooding in areas with poor drainage, but the big threats appear to be wind and some snow at higher elevations. At least he isn’t worried about fire. “Fire season looks like it’s effectively over, so we’re shifting our focus now to rain and winter weather and wind.”
Fort Bragg and WIllits are expected to get winds of up to 45 mph, with wind speeds forecast at 36 mph in Leggett and 26 mph in Ukiah. Round Valley will be spared the worst of the winds with forecasts topping out at 16 mph. Our neighbors in Humboldt County may see winds up to 60 mph near Humboldt Bay, and northern Trinity County may see snow at elevations over 3,000 feet.
For real time updates readers can follow the NWS Eureka on Twitter. NWS is also inviting members of the public to report on weather conditions from their location as the storm progresses.
Pacific Gas and Electric spokesperson Deanna Contreras wrote in an email this morning the utility has been tracking the storm and preparing for its impacts. Workers are on alert to respond to outages when and if they occur. They’re also keeping an eye on local burn scars as a matter of safety for field personnel working along steep slopes or drainages where landslides could be a problem.
“We always want our customers to be prepared for possible power outages but with this kind of weather in Mendocino County, we tend to see power outages related to trees and tree branches falling into power lines and damaging equipment,” Contreras said. “The winds are expected to pick up tonight and with the grounds soaked, we could see some tree failure overnight. We are staffing up crews along the North Coast to respond to outages and make repairs safely and as quickly as possible.”
