Right now, the first days of 2026 are turning the Pacific coast into a live stress test for survival, not just infrastructure. A chain of Pacific storms is piling straight into an extreme king tide, driving seawater up over beaches, parking lots, and seaw walls, and threatening to turn familiar streets into fastmoving brown rivers. In San Diego, nearly a month's worth of rain is trying to fall in a single day, pushing hillsides and storm drains toward their limits. Farther north, some of the highest tides in decades are squeezing every low-lying neighborhood right up against the edge of the ocean. As we move into this first Pacific storm cycle of 2026, the setup along the West Coast is brutally clear. One low pressure system after another is lining up over the ocean, dragging long bands of moisture into the same shoreline that is already facing a rare king tide. According to forecasters, this is not just a stormy weekend. It is a pattern where heavy rain is hitting saturated ground at the exact same time that ocean water is pushed close to record levels around San Francisco Bay and other low-lying coastal zones. Here's the important part. When that happens, the water has fewer exits. Storm drains begin to back up. Creek mouths that normally empty cleanly into the Pacific start to choke. In San Diego, between midnight and early afternoon on January 1st, gauges picked up roughly 2.46 in of rain. turning it into one of the heaviest single day events there in nearly a century of records and triggering fast flooding on streets that usually handle winter storms without much trouble. This is the kind of pattern that can quietly turn an overnight flood watch into a morning where people wake up to find key roots in coastal neighborhoods already underwater. In San Diego, the numbers behind that first storm of 2026 already tell a dangerous story. Between midnight and the early afternoon of January 1st, the gauge at the international airport picked up around 246 inches of rain, putting this New Year downpour into the same league as some of the 15 heaviest single day events on record there since the 19 the 1930s. That much water in that short a window did not just make streets wet. It primed rivers, gullies, and storm drains for fast, messy flooding at the exact moment people were waking up to a holiday morning. Here's the important part. The San Diego River surged to about 12.75 ft early on January 1st, brushing the upper edge of minor flood stage and forcing forecasters to issue a river flood warning that stayed in place into the next day. NBC7 reported at least 11 swift water rescues across the county, including a man pinned in rising water under a bridge in Mission Valley and an adult with a child pulled from a car caught in fast-moving flood water near Fashion Valley. In Mission Hills, cars were partially submerged and at least one business took heavy damage as muddy water pushed into the ground floor. Neighborhoods such as South Crest and Rolando Park again saw flood scenes familiar from previous storms, but with water spreading farther across streets and into low spots than residents expected at the start of the year. The impacts did not stop at the front door. Because of flooding, authorities temporarily shut down several key routes, including the Five Points area near the Coronado Marina and stretches of Interstate 5 near Del Mar and major interchanges around Oceanside. More than 5,000 San Diego gas and electric customers lost power in neighborhoods such as Logan Heights, Mountain View, and Lincoln Park before crews slowly restored service through the day. At San Diego International Airport, a ground stop froze departures for a time and by about in the afternoon, roughly 235 flights were delayed and 49 were cancelled before operations began to recover. At the same time, the National Weather Service issued a beach hazard statement through the end of the weekend for the county's coastline warning that large surf strong rip currents in the next round of high tides could bring more coastal flooding to low-lying areas even after the heaviest rain shifted inland. Next, we move north to see how a colder atmospheric river is lining up to drench central and northern California while the Sierra turns into a deep winter hazard zone. Farther north, central and northern California are bracing for a different but equally dangerous side of this pattern. A colder atmospheric river is sliding over the Sacramento and Sanwaqin valleys and into the Sierra foothills carrying steady rain into communities that sit downstream from burn scars levies and long river systems. According to the National Weather Service, a broad flood watch is in effect for lower elevation areas in the western foothills from late Friday night through Monday afternoon as a series of bands comes onshore and keeps the ground saturated for days rather than hours. Here's the important part. This is not one clean burst of rain and then a break. Forecast through Sunday call for as much as 2 in of rain around Vakavville, Sacramento, and Mary'sville up to about 4 in near Grass Valley. around three inches near Plerville and close to one inch in places like Stockton and Modesto. Across the region, totals from Friday night through Monday could reach one to three inches on the valley floor and 3 to 5 in in the foothills. At the same time, a wind advisory covers parts of the northern Sacramento Valley where sustained winds of 15 to 25 miles per hour with gusts approaching 45 miles hour could topple branches that push already stressed trees and knock out power to scattered neighborhoods. The instability riding on top of that moisture means the threat does not stop at plain rain. Local station KC has flagged Saturday as an alert day with scattered showers capable of briefly turning into stronger thunderstorms. Forecast point to pockets of very heavy downpours, lightning, small hail, and at least a low chance of funnel clouds or a weak short-lived tornado in parts of the central valley in the lower foothills. In a setup like this, one intense cell over a vulnerable spot can overwhelm local drainage in minutes, turning a routine shower into street flooding and sending first responders back into high water rescues just as people are trying to get through a holiday weekend. Higher up the Sierra Nevada is shifting into full winter hazard mode. As colder air digs in, forecasters expect mountain passes to collect feet of new snow with some summits near the crest piling up several feet over the course of the event and key crossings such as Carson and Sonora Pass possibly seeing snow depths approach 5 ft. That kind of loading makes chain control spinouts and long delays on Interstate 80, Highway 50, and other Trans Sierra routes much more likely with white out conditions possible in the heaviest bursts. For anyone planning to cross the mountains, the difference between leaving before the strongest band and leaving during it could be the difference between a long but manageable drive and hours stuck in a line of stopped vehicles while plows fight to reopen the road. Next, we widen the lens to the rest of the West Coast where the same storm chain is spreading heavy rain, intense wind, and dangerous snow from Southern California all the way to Washington and Oregon. This storm chain is not just a local California problem. According to forecasters, the same Pacific systems that drenched San Diego and are now soaking the central valley and the Sierra are part of a broader pattern spreading unsettled weather along much of the West Coast. As each low pressure center moves inland, bands of rain and wind sweep across coastal communities and inland valleys, keeping rivers high soil saturated and travel conditions changeable from Southern California northward. Here's the important part. In this setup, different regions feel different faces of the same system. Farther north, storms that arrive as heavy rain at lower elevations are expected to fall as thick snow in the higher mountains, turning key passes and high routes into winter hazard zones for hours at a time. Even where accumulations at sea level stay modest, the combination of wet ground, gusty winds, and freezing levels that rise and fall can bring down branches, tip weakened trees, and trigger scattered power interruptions. What looks like just another gray, rainy day on the radar can turn in a short window into a dangerous period for drivers, hikers, and anyone caught out in exposed areas. Across the broader region, the message remains the same. This is a coastwide stress test. From commuters in Southern California dodging ponding water and detours to travelers in higher terrain, watching snow and ice stack up along mountain approaches, millions of people are dealing with different pieces of the same storm machine rolling in from the Pacific. And even as this first wave begins to shift inland forecast discussions already point to additional pulses of moisture waiting offshore, lining up to rotate back toward the West Coast in the coming days. Next, we turn back to California and focus on what those next waves could mean for already saturated ground stressed rivers in communities that have just been through one of the first big weather tests of 2026. For California, the most important part of this story is not what has already happened. It is what the next waves could still do to a landscape that is already saturated and a coastline already pressed hard against the edge. Forecasters are tracking additional low pressure systems over the Pacific that are expected to swing more moisture toward the state in the coming days, keeping showers and periods of heavier rain in the picture instead of allowing a clean drying break. That could mean rivers, creeks, and storm drains are asked to carry another round of water while they are still running high from the first hit of 2026. Here is the important part. When storms arrive after the ground has already soaked up as much as it can, the way the system reacts changes. It takes less new rain to produce the same level of runoff. Slopes that held during the first burst become more fragile. Channels that were just high enough to stay within their banks can more quickly spill out into nearby streets and fields. Forecast discussions warn that if the next pulses line up with high tides again, low-lying coastal neighborhoods, areas along bays and estuaries and communities near smaller rivers could see faster, more aggressive flooding than they did during the opening storm. Even if the total rainfall numbers look similar on paper, the concern is not only water standing where it usually does not belong. Each new band of rain and wind can raise the stress on levies, culverts, bridge approaches, and hillside neighborhoods that have been through multiple tough winters in recent years. Forecasters and local officials are watching for signs of additional landslides on steep terrain, more road wash outs on smaller routes, and renewed power outages where saturated soil and gusty winds can bring down trees that have already been weakened. In this kind of pattern, the most dangerous morning for some communities may not be the first one after the headline storm, but the second or third morning when people are tired of alerts and the next round arrives a little stronger or a little less expected than the one before. Next, we step back and close the loop on this storm cycle, looking at what this new year pattern is already telling us about living on a coast where the line between routine winter weather and high impact flooding is getting thinner every year. As this new year storm cycle winds down, it leaves behind more than flooded streets and long travel delays. It leaves a clear reminder that for millions of people along the Pacific coast, winter is no longer a quiet background season. It is a time when king tide stronger storms and aging infrastructure all meet the places where people live, work, and travel. The scenes from San Diego, where a single day brought roughly 2.46 46 in of rain and push the river to minor flood stage. And the warnings for central and northern California and the Sierra are not separate stories. They are different angles on the same simple fact. More of what matters in daily life now sits close to the edge of rising water and fast changing snow lines. Here's the important part. None of what we are seeing guarantees that every winter will look like this. But forecasters and emergency managers have warned for years that when warmer oceans feed stronger storms into familiar coastlines, events that once felt rare can start to show up more often. High tides that barely touched a seaw wall a generation ago now arrive on top of heavy rain and a wind-driven surge. Roads in neighborhoods that were designed for a different climate can be pushed past their limits in a single long weekend. For families, the line between routine winter storm and this time we have to leave can come down to a few extra inches of water arriving at the wrong hour of the morning. What this first big test of 2026 shows most clearly is how quickly conditions can flip when storms, tides, and river levels all line up. In San Diego, that meant swift water rescues and power outages. In the central valley and the foothills, it means days of flood watches, slick highways, and a Sierra that can collect several feet of new snow on the passes. Along the coast, it means low-lying neighborhoods learning again exactly how close they are to the next king tide. The images from this week will fade from the headlines, but the questions they raise about where we build, how we prepare, and how closely we watch the next ban on the radar are going to keep coming back every time the Pacific decides to push hard against the shore again. As this first Pacific storm cycle of 2026 begins to move off the radar, it leaves behind more than flooded streets, damaged roads, and long lines of stranded travelers. It leaves fresh high water marks on rivers and coastlines, new scars on slopes and levies. And one more clear reminder that the line between routine winter weather and high impact flooding along this coast is getting thinner each year. From the roughly 2.46 46 ines of rain that pushed the San Diego River into minor flood stage to days of flood watches in the central valley and deep new snow-loading mountain passes in the Sierra this week has shown how quickly familiar places can flip from normal to dangerous when storms tides and river levels all line up at once. If this update helped you understand what has been happening and what to watch for as the next waves arrive, take a moment to subscribe, turn on notifications, and share this report with someone who lives along the West Coast so they are not caught off guard. Paying attention to official watches, warnings, and local guidance before the water rises or the snow starts to fall is still one of the most powerful tools anyone has in a season like this. Question for you in the comments. Where are you watching this New Year storm pattern from? And what worries you most in the days ahead? ***https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWrVVQNr5SY
RECENT more coming shortly
SON 1 San Francisco Terrifying storm, king tides- "A dangerous preview of future"- SON Street Food channel 16-min Jan 4 VERY INFORMATIVE and fascinating video report, w transcript- Heating Planet
[KE: Everything scientists predicted about global warming/ climate change since the 1970s is coming true, only faster]
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