Storm Pounds County During Holiday

An atmospheric river dumped several inches of rain on Santa Cruz County during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and wind gusts reportedly in excess of 90 mph flipped boats in the Santa Cruz Harbor and toppled trees into power lines in the Santa Cruz Mountains. A tornado warning was even briefly issued on Christmas Day.

More than 11,000 people were left without power. Outages were especially significant in the mountains around Brookdale, Ben Lomond, and around Bonny Doon. In the areas around Nisene Marks State Park there were also significant outages.

The storm was part of a larger weather event that flooded areas throughout the state, especially in the south. Daily rainfall records were set Christmas Eve in Oxnard (3.33 inches), Santa Barbara (3.31 inches) and Woodland Hills (3.96) inches.

The rainfall was not as drastic in Northern California, but PG&E reported more than 40,000 customers without power on Christmas Day. On Dec. 26, most still did not have power.

TOP PHOTO: Workers clean up Santa Cruz Harbor on Dec. 26, a day after heavy winds blasted through.