A strong Pacific storm swept through the San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey Bay Area on Wednesday, January 6. This storm produced heavy rain, minor flooding, damaging winds, a funnel cloud, and one confirmed tornado.
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 Pacific storm swept through the San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey Bay Area on Wednesday, January 6. This storm produced heavy rain, minor flooding, damaging winds, a funnel cloud, and one confirmed tornado.
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 6, 3:50 AM PST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
350 AM PST WED JAN 6 2016
.SYNOPSIS...FRONTAL PASSAGE THIS MORNING WILL BRING A PERIOD OF
HEAVY RAIN WITH NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. SHOWERS LINGER INTO THURSDAY ALONG WITH CONTINUED
HIGH SURF CONDITIONS ALONG THE COAST. MAINLY DRY FRIDAY BUT STILL
SOME ISOLATED SHOWERS. NEXT FRONT ARRIVES FRIDAY NIGHT INTO
SATURDAY MORNING WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN.
BRIEF DRY SPELL SUNDAY BEFORE ANOTHER CHANCE OF RAIN BY MONDAY.
&&
.DISCUSSION...AS OF 3:29 AM PST WEDNESDAY...INCOMING FRONT IS ON
TRACK WITH RAIN ABOUT TO START OVER MOST OF THE COASTAL AREAS AND
THEN SPREAD INLAND THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. RAIN WILL BECOME
MODERATE TO HEAVY AND LOCALIZED URBAN FLOODING LIKELY TO IMPACT
THE MORNING COMMUTE. IR SATELLITE IS LOOKING REAL IMPRESSIVE
OFFSHORE AND AFTER THE FRONTAL RAINS MOVE THROUGH EXPECT NUMEROUS
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. LIGHTNING DETECTION ALREADY
SHOWING SEVERAL LIGHTNING STRIKES OFFSHORE AND EXPECT THAT TREND
TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY. LAPSE RATES 7-8 C/KM WITH CURRENT
FREEZING LEVELS AROUND 5000 FEET SUGGESTS SOME LOCALIZED HAIL AND
EVEN SOME SNOW ON THE HIGHEST PEAKS TO AROUND 4000 FEET. IN FACT
THE BODEGA BAY PROFILER IS CURRENTLY SHOWING AN OBSERVED SNOW
LEVEL OF 4362 FEET WITH LIGHT PRECIP FALLING.
IN TERMS OF CURRENT HEADLINES WILL LEAVE THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN
EFFECT FOR TIME BEING. MAY CONVERT TO URBAN FLOOD ADVISORY
DEPENDING ON OBSERVED RAIN RATES. IN ADDITION THE HIGH SURF
ADVISORY HAS ALREADY BEEN UPGRADED TO WARNING FOR EXPECTED VERY
LARGE SEAS LATER TODAY. OFFSHORE BUOY 59 ALREADY UP TO 20 FEET.
HIGH TIDE AT THE GOLDEN GATE THIS MORNING IS 6 FEET AT 8:25 AM
WHICH COINCIDES WITH THE COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY THROUGH 10 AM.
SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING WITH MOIST ONSHORE FLOW AND
WEAK EMBEDDED SHORTWAVES. SHOWER THREAT CONTINUES INTO THURSDAY
BUT EXPECT MORE SCATTERED ACTIVITY WITH THE 06Z NAM SHOWING
ANOTHER WEAK SHORTWAVE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON APPROACHING THE SF
BAY AREA THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. CANT RULE OUT SHOWERS ON
FRIDAY BUT COMPARED TO PREVIOUS DAYS IT LOOKS FAIRLY DRY ON FRIDAY
AFTERNOON WITH PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES.
BY FRIDAY EVENING SOME WARM FRONTAL RAINS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP
ALONG THE COAST WITH SURFACE LOW APPROACHING BY 12Z SATURDAY. THIS
WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN TO START THE
WEEKEND...ALTHOUGH A DRYING TREND BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING.
LOOKS LIKE SOME BRIEF RIDGING FOR SUNDAY BEFORE NEXT...MAINLY
WEAK SYSTEM ARRIVES MONDAY WITH ANOTHER CHANCE OF SOME LIGHT RAIN.
PATTERN LOOKS TO STAY ACTIVE AND PROGRESSIVE WITH MORE SYSTEMS
POISED TO IMPACT THE AREA NEXT WEEK. NO MAJOR STORMS LOOK TO BE
FORECAST AT THIS TIME WITH JUST SOME BENEFICIAL RAINS AND
MOUNTAIN SNOWS. LONG RANGE 10-15 DAY GFS IMPLIES THE ACTIVE
PATTERN CONTINUES.
&&
.AVIATION...AS OF 03:50 AM PST WEDNESDAY... POTENT COLD FRONT
MOVING ONSHORE THIS MORNING. CIGS CURRENTLY VFR BUT EXPECT RAPIDLY
DETERIORATING CIGS INTO MVFR RANGE WITHIN NEXT HOUR OR TWO. CIGS
SHOULD REMAIN BORDERLINE VFR/MVFR THROUGH THE 30 HOUR TAF PERIOD
ONCE THEY LOWER. CONVECTIVE PARAMETERS SHOWING POTENTIAL FOR
THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE MORNING... ESPECIALLY ALONG THE COAST.
LATEST RADAR IMAGERY AND LIGHTNING DETECTION NETWORK CONFIRM
CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY HIGHER THAN TYPICAL FOR OUR AREA... SEEING
SEVERAL STRIKES OFFSHORE AS OF 0350AM. SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS AHEAD
OF FRONT WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE AS FRONT APPROACHES... AND WILL
BECOME GUSTY NEAR THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. PEAK GUSTS IN THE RANGE OF
30 TO 35 KT ARE POSSIBLE. WINDS WILL VEER TOWARDS THE SOUTHWEST
AND THEN WEST IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE... BUT MAY BECOME
ERRATIC NEAR ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. SMALL HAIL ALSO POSSIBLE
UNDER HEAVIER CONVECTIVE CELLS. LINGERING VICINITY SHOWERS ARE
EXPECTED THROUGH THE ENTIRE TAF PERIOD.
VICINITY OF KSFO...VFR/MVFR CIGS AND OCCASIONAL SHOWERS FOLLOWED BY
STEADIER MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN THIS MORNING FOLLOWED BY MORE
SHOWERS INTO THIS AFTERNOON.
SFO BRIDGE APPROACH...SIMILAR TO KSFO.
MONTEREY BAY AREA TERMINALS...VFR/MVFR CIGS AND OCCASIONAL SHOWERS
FOLLOWED BY STEADIER MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN THIS MORNING FOLLOWED BY
MORESHOWERS INTO THIS AFTERNOON.
&&
.MARINE...AS OF 03:44 AM PST WEDNESDAY...A COLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY
WILL PUSH ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS TODAY AND BRING A LARGE WEST
SWELL... GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS... AND THUNDERSTORMS. OCCASIONAL
GALE FORCE GUSTS ARE POSSIBLE. WINDS WILL WEAKEN AND VEER TOWARDS
THE WEST IN THE POST FRONTAL ENVIRONMENT LATER TODAY. THE
COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS AND BUILDING SWELL WILL PRODUCE A ROUGH
SEA STATE. CONDITIONS WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE ON FRIDAY.
&&
.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.TDAY...FLASH FLOOD WATCH...NORTH BAY...COASTAL RANGES...SAN
FRANCISCO BAY SHORELINE AND MONTEREY BAY REGION
COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY...ALL COASTAL AREAS
HIGH SURF WARNING...ALL COASTAL AREAS
SCA...MRY BAY
SCA...PIGEON PT TO PT PINOS 0-10 NM
SCA...PT PINOS TO PT PIEDRAS BLANCAS 0-10 NM
SCA...PIGEON PT TO PT PIEDRAS BLANCAS 10-60 NM
SCA...SF BAY UNTIL 2 PM
SCA...PT ARENA TO PT REYES 0-10 NM UNTIL 2 PM
SCA...PT REYES TO PIGEON PT 0-10 NM UNTIL 2 PM
SCA...PT ARENA TO PIGEON PT 10-60 NM UNTIL 2 PM
SCA...PT ARENA TO PT REYES 0-10 NM FROM 2 PM
SCA...PT REYES TO PIGEON PT 0-10 NM FROM 2 PM
SCA...PT ARENA TO PIGEON PT 10-60 NM FROM 2 PM
SCA...ROUGH BAR ADVISORY FOR SF BAR
&&
PUBLIC FORECAST: RWW
AVIATION: DRP
MARINE: DRP
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WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWSBAYAREAThe Sacramento radar (KDAX), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:58 UTC.
5 flood, 2 debris flow, 1 coastal flood, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor mud slide at SR29 and Old Lawley Road. One land partially blocked.
Southbound 101 between SR 1 and Marin City closed due to coastal flooding.
CHP reported that I-80 East at El Portal Drive was flooded. The HOV lane was flooded and water was flowing across all lanes.
US 101 Flooded at several on/off ramps. CHP reports water 1 to 3 feet deep, including at Silver Ave, South Van Ess, and I-80 at 7th Street.
Hartnell Road at US101 closed due to flooding.
Minor Mud slide on SR1 at Steep Ravine Trail, blocked one lane.
Roadway flooded on Pleasant Hill Road at Mitchell Court. Roadway was completely flooded.
A weak (EF-0) tornado touched down in a field between Highway 156 and Orchard Road approximately 7 miles north of Hollister, CA in San Benito County. The tornado last just a minute or two and caused spotty damage along a 3/4-mile length path that was 10-20 yards in width. A large shed sustained significant damage with its roof blown off. The roof was also blown off a barn and there was significant damage to a fence on the same property.
Roadway flooding at San Andreas Road and Beach Street. Several vehicles stuck in water.
Funnel cloud reported. Did not touch down.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for California, 2016Warnings in California, January 2016
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: 608298, 608010, 608014, 608297, 608299, 608300, 608301, 608302, 608303, 608304.