Power Outage in Anaheim, CA

Surface high pressure over the Great Basin brought very strong and gusty northeast to east winds and hot weather from the 12th through the 14th, before the winds finally decreased. The hardest hit areas were the mountains and western foothills of Riverside and San Diego County. The gusty winds downed countless trees, power lines and blew tiles from roofs. The winds also helped to fuel and spread nearly a dozen wildfires in San Diego County alone. The hot weather even spawned a damaging dust devil early on, before the winds really got going.

This upper-level low pressure system developed right on the heels of the last and became a closed low over the Northern Baja for 2 days, drawing moisture back into the area along with strong, widespread offshore winds. This system also set off intense showers and isolated thunderstorms with pea-sized hail (accumulations in Rancho Cucamonga and Mission Viejo), as well as several funnel clouds spotted east of John Wayne Airport. Most of the rain with this system was confined to Orange County, the Inland Empire and the northern mountains. Heavy rain was observed in Orange County and the Inland Empire on the 15th and 16th with locations there recording between one-quarter and one-half inch. The snow level dropped to around 3500 ft., with accumulations of 3 to 8 inches there. Bear Mountain resort recorded 12 to 16 inches. Strong winds were also observed with this storm, especially on the 16th, which was a more widespread wind event than early December, impacting all counties, including San Diego County, with warning-level winds. Several wind gusts of 45-65 mph were reported in the Santa Ana Mountains, the Inland Empire and San Diego County Mountains. Several trees and power poles were downed, leaving many without power.

A powerful storm swept through all of California with high winds, periods of heavy rain, and locally heavy snow. Strong upslope flow off the Pacific and a high freezing level fueled larged amounts of rainfall on the coastal slopes. The snow level fell late in the storm as colder air filtered in resulting in heavy snowfall at elevations above 6000 feet. Isolated flash flooding and debris flows were reported, mainly in the burn areas. Flash flooding in the Inland Empire resulted in one death.

Mudslides occurred in several locations in the Anaheim Hills area and City of Orange. Several power poles and trees were knocked down resulting in damage to vehicles.

Trees and power poles were knocked down in Redlands, Riverside, Tustin, Santa Ana, San Clemente, and Lakeside. Several cars and houses were damaged. Winds gusting between 30 and 40 mph fanned a 3 acre fire in Coto de Caza and a 7.5 acre brush fire near Norco, where three roofs of nearby homes caught fire. Three tractor trailers were blown over between Riverside and Rancho Cucamonga.

Santa Ana winds gusted between 60 to 70 mph for several days across Southwest California. A semi-tractor trailer rig was blown over in Fontana. Blowing dust was reported in Temecula. A power pole was blown down at Pedley. A manufactured home being towed along Interstate 8 was blown over. The strong winds also fanned several small fires into 100 acre wildfires. Nearby homes were evacuated. In San Bernardino, one house was damaged and a few outlying structures were destroyed by the flames.

A thunderstorm moved east across Orange County and the Inland Empire. Lightning struck a boat docked in Newport Beach, but the resulting fire was quickly extinquished. Several power transformers were also struck as the thunderstorm moved inland, resulting in power outages to 6300 customers in Orange County. In Riverside County, lightning struck a 50 foot pine tree just as a car was passing by. Three occupants felt the electricity course through their bodies and the heat from the lightning strike.

The wettest rain storm in 16 months caused mudslides and flooding in Orange and San Bernardino Counties. Highways and city streets were flooded for 30 minutes to three hours and contributed directly to several fatal accidents. High winds blew down power lines in the Apple Valley area. The combination of rain soaked ground and strong winds caused trees and power poles to topple in the San Bernardino Mountains.