“The current status of roads throughout Santa Cruz County is. Officials on Tuesday afternoon shared a map showing dozens of reported roadway incidents and traffic hazards - many along Highway 9 north of Santa Cruz.
The winds felled trees and downed power lines, and driving was a dismal experience across Santa Cruz County. The phenomenon, known as the Fujiwhara effect, was contributing to peak wind gusts “upward of 60 to 75 mph in the Santa Cruz Mountains,” said Rick Canepa, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Monterey County, along with strong 50- to 60-mph winds across Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. On Tuesday afternoon, as the storm approached the Bay Area, the system developed two “eyes,” or areas of low pressure, which intensified winds as they danced around each other, said Brian Garcia, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Bay Area. Landspouts are similar to tornadoes, but the circulation from the funnel starts at ground level and is pulled up into towering cumulus clouds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Though recent storms have cut California’s drought by half, record snowpack will increase the threat of spring flooding, forecasters say. Climate & Environment California risk shifts from drought to floods after record rain, snow
