As a winter storm in February began unexpectedly in the Bay Area, rain and snow accompanied by strong winds fell everywhere on the night of the 23rd, causing damage one after another.
There was rain, hail, and snow all over the Bay, and as it entered the late afternoon, there were rainstorms accompanied by strong winds in earnest, as well as thunder and lightning in some places. Mountains high above sea level were covered with white snow. The Korea Meteorological Administration called this winter’s storm ‘historic’.
North Bay and East Bay received 1 to 3 inches of snow not only in the highlands, but also in the lower lowlands.
The National Weather Service is counting snowfall in the Bay Area accurately as of 10 a.m. on the 24th from this winter storm, but the North Bay is 1 to 3 inches above 250 feet above sea level, 1 to 2 inches in the Tamalpais Mountains, and areas above 1,500 feet above sea level near Cloverdale. reported five to six inches of snow. In the case of the East Bay, Berkeley Hill, near the Diablo Mountains, said it recorded two to three inches of snowfall.
According to the tally so far, the snowiest area from this winter storm is the Santa Cruz Mountains, the National Weather Service explained. The Santa Cruz Mountains said 10 to 12 inches of snow were counted in areas above 2,500 feet, and 1 to 3 inches in areas above 700 feet. Residents of the Pelton area experienced two to three inches of snow covering their driveways, porches and cars.
Meteorologist Brook Bingaman said, “In the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Cloverdale region, there is very little snowfall every year, but this month’s snowfall is unusual.” It’s very rare,” he said.
Snow piled up overnight in North Bay, causing extreme congestion on the way to work on slippery roads on the morning of the 24th. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) closed Highway 17 in both directions from Scott Valley to Los Gatos. It was reported that 20 trees were downed on Highway 17 alone.
There were also accidents where vehicles got stuck in snow in the area near Cloverdale, which is more than 400 feet above sea level in Sonoma County.
Highway 152 was also closed to traffic on Fall Line Road, forcing motorists to divert to other roads.
In Napa County, some school districts, including Calistoga Joint, Pope Valley, and Howell Mountain, closed schools due to bad weather. Highway 29 between Calistoga Tops Lane and Bradford Road, near the Napa-Lake County border, was also blocked due to slippery roads causing vehicles to spin around.
The Korea Meteorological Administration said that the average temperature on the 23rd was 7 to 14 degrees lower than normal at the end of February, and that the highest temperature in downtown San Francisco was less than 50 degrees. In Santa Rosa, the temperature drops to 28 degrees, showing the lowest temperature recorded in 2022, 1955, and 1911 (February 23).