Nearly 150,000 without electricity as bomb cyclone slams California: Updates

California Bomb Cyclone: Flights at San Francisco International Airport were grounded and at least one person was reported to have died in San Mateo County.

A bomb cyclone slammed into Northern California, knocking down power lines and leaving at least 150,000 people without electricity. Flights at San Francisco International Airport were grounded and at least one person was reported to have died in San Mateo County, south of San Francisco, Bloomberg reported.

California Bomb Cyclone: Cars sit abandoned on roads as floodwaters from the Tule River inundate the area after days of heavy rain, in Corcoran, California.(Reuters)

“This was a violent, sudden windstorm. We’re seeing impacts probably that are similar to a strong tropical storm or a weak hurricane," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles said.

Here are top updates on the bomb cyclone in California:

1. The rapidly strengthening low-pressure system brought 80 miles per hour wind gusts.
2. About 260,000 homes and businesses across the state lost electricity, according to PowerOutage.us.
3. California has witnessed a series of storms since late December, bringing flooding rains and record snowfalls.
4. More than 20 people have died and billions of dollars in damages and losses have mounted In California.
5. Santa Cruz County reported downed electrical lines and car crashes.
6. In the Central Valley’s Tulare County, authorities ordered evacuations as the fear of wider flooding loomed.
7. The heaviest rainfall was expected today, authorities warned.
8. The storm is expected to linger through late Wednesday as it pushes into Nevada and Arizona, forecasters noted.