A strong storm system from the Gulf of Alaska affected the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas from January 1st through January 4th. This system brought strong gusty winds and heavy rain to the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MTR wrote it up.
A strong storm system from the Gulf of Alaska affected the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas from January 1st through January 4th. This system brought strong gusty winds and heavy rain to the area.
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 1, 3:15 AM PST, 15 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy rain, 1 heavy snow, 1 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. PST on January 1, 2011 State Route 29 was closed from St. Helena (Napa County) to the Napa/Lake County line due to snow. The roadway reopened at 7:12 a.m. PST on January 1, 2011.
A large tree fell on an occupied vehicle causing the closure of State Route 183 in the Monterey Area at approximately 9:21 p.m. PST. The roadway was reopened at 10:57 p.m.
At approximately 5:00 p.m. PST, State Route 9 at Scenic Way, in the Santa Cruz area, was closed due to downed trees and power lines. The roadway reopened on January 3, 2011, at approximately 6:21 a.m.
At approximately 5:04 p.m. PST State Route 9 was closed from 1.2 miles north of Felton to 2.4 miles north of Felton due to downed power lines. The roadway reopened at 5:56 a.m. on January 3, 2011.
Black ice made rural roads treacherous, including Porter Creek Road, where a car slid, flipped and finally smashed into a bedroom wall of a home. There were two other accidents due to black ice on roadways.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2011
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 277171, 277167, 277172, 277186, 277339.