Bomb Cyclone California: Storm slams into west coast; infant dead after tree falls on home
Weather in California includes widespread flooding, mudslides due to saturated ground
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. -- There is a massive storm slamming the west coast Thursday, with dangerous winds and a firehose of rain that has no place to go.
The ground is already saturated from recent storms in northern California, so on Thursday morning, there is widespread flooding, mudslides, downed trees, closed schools and power outages.
The major storm brought wind gusts over 100 miles an hour in some areas, "Good Morning America" reported.
Waves of heavy rain pelted San Francisco, where up to a foot is possible.
Firefighters and police in that city had to rescue a family after a tree fell on their vehicle.
In Occidental, California, officials reported an infant lost his life after a tree fell on a mobile home.
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"This is probably up there with some of the storms 20, 30 years ago, the amount of trees downed. A lot of the same scenarios happened this time that we had a long time ago," Occidental Fire Chief Ron Lunardi said.
A satellite image showed the heavy storm as it entered the area, inundating the west coast with torrential rain.
The storm is so powerful the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is sending its hurricane hunter to better understand this severe weather.
And throughout the state, authorities are desperately urging residents to stay home.
"This may be one of the most challenging and impactful series of storms to touch down in California in the last five years," said Nancy Ward, director of the California governor's office of emergency services.
In Sacramento County, some spots are still flooded from last weekend's deadly storm, a storm that broke a levee.
That levee has since been plugged, and officials are hoping that it holds through this storm and the rain that's expected the next few days.
