Stockton officials announced warming centers will be open across the city as the first major storm of the season continues to pound Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.
In addition to the city’s two shelters for unhoused residents — Gospel Center Rescue Mission and St. Mary’s Community Services — overnight warming zones will be open at Arnold Rue Community Center and Stribley Community Center.
The centers will be open 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday, the city said in a news release.
The spaces will be open to anyone without adequate heat or protection from weather conditions. Overnight resting space will be offered in gymnasiums, which are heated, and restrooms will be open. Waters and snacks will also be provided.
The services are being offered as an atmospheric river, which has pummeled the Pacific Northwest, dips into Stockton, bringing rain, gusty winds and chilly temperatures. The storm is expected to come in two batches. The first will strike over the next couple of days, followed by off-and-on showers. Then comes another significant drenching over the weekend, National Weather Service meteorologist Sara Purdue said.
The first round could produce a half-inch to an inch of rain through Friday. The second will bring up to another inch. Showers will be sporadic into early next week, the National Weather Service predicts.
The storm, labeled a “bomb cyclone” by meterologists, swept across the Northwest on Tuesday night, battering the region with strong winds and rain, causing widespread power outages, closing schools and downing trees that killed at least two people in Washington.
A flood watch in California was extended through Saturday for areas north of San Francisco. Up to 16 inches of rain is forecast in Northern California and southwestern Oregon through Friday. Dangerous flash flooding, rock slides and debris flows were possible, weather service officials warned.
A winter storm watch was also in place for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet, where 15 inches of snow was possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph in mountain areas, forecasters said.
Chain controls were active along Interstate 80, between Yuba Pass and Truckee, where heavy snow had blanketed the area, the California Department of Transportation reported.
San Joaquin County residents can sign up for the county’s emergency alert system at sjready.org to receive the latest safety information.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.