Name: Flood and Strong Wind in California, January 25 to 26, 2010
Start: 2010-01-25T03:00
End: 2010-01-26T08:15
Location: California

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $84,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MTR wrote it up.

The San Francisco and Monterey Bay area experienced the southern fringe of a cold front on Monday and Tuesday as short wave troughs moved through the atmosphere. Strong winds and brief heavy rain caused trees to come down and enhanced the already saturated soil to produce local flooding.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 24, 10:30 PM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 24, 10:30 PM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes before

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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 strong wind, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, North Bay Interior Valleys

When: January 25, 3:00 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
Where: North Bay Interior Valleys forecast zone
Measured: 43 kt (49 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 38.362, -122.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong wind brought down a large oak tree along Fitch Mountain Road in Healdsburg. The tree smashed into a home and caused the road to be closed. Some of the other areas experienced downed trees and power lines were Sebastopol, Forestville and Santa Rosa. In all, around 1,200 customers were without power.

Strong Wind, Northern Monterey Bay

When: January 26, 4:00 AM PST to 6:00 AM PST
Where: Northern Monterey Bay forecast zone
Measured: 43 kt (49 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $30,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 37.022, -122.010 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong wind knocked down a huge oak tree over the 1200 block of Eureka Canyon Road. The tree, with a five-foot diameter base, tore out power lines in several places, forcing officials to close the road for most of the day. Residents in the area, about 115, lost power.

Flood, Sonoma

When: January 26, 7:45 AM PST to 8:15 AM PST
Where: Sonoma County, 0.7 mi SW of Manzana to 0.5 mi SW of Manzana
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 38.444, -122.880

A motorist decided to drive around barriers stating the road was flooded and ended up submerged up to his door handles. Atascadero Creek was running three feet deep across Green Valley Road in Graton when the driver decided to attempt to cross the creek. Other commonly flooded roads in Sonoma County remained closed.

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in California, January 2010

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 213825, 213827, 213830.