Gusty winds that toppled a large tree at a flea market at San Joaquin Delta College over the weekend, injuring two vendors, are coming back for another round, forecasters say.
Winds up to 28 mph are expected to buffet Stocktonians just as Election Day is winding down. They are expected to arrive late Tuesday and stick around through Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Sacramento predicted.
That blustery weather will be similar to what blew through Sunday morning, when winds were strong enough to fell a tree at The Market at Delta, where sellers gather on weekends to hawk their wares in the college parking lot.
Two vendors complained of pain and were taken to local hospitals after a strong gust ripped the tree out of the ground at its base. Community college district police, in detailing the incident, posted a photo on Facebook showing the large tree lying across several parking spaces near pop-up tents.
The two vendors have since been released from the hospital, and no further information was available about their injuries, said Sgt. Jim Bock, spokesman for the college district’s police department.
The flea market always closes when rain is in the forecast, Bock said, but further talks are expected to make sure everyone is safe during unusual weather.
The weekend’s breezy conditions quieted Monday, but a new event is on the way, the weather service said. Winds are expected to pick up Tuesday afternoon, with peak velocity around 7 to 14 mph by the evening and gusts up to 28 mph.
Pacific Gas and Electric has placed more than a dozen counties under a public safety power shutoff watch because of the expected high winds as well as dry conditions, the combination of which can be a fire hazard. Currently, San Joaquin County is not under the PSPS watch.
By Wednesday, the steady winds should taper off in Stockton — although the power shutoff threat will remain through Thursday in other Northern California areas — but gusts are still predicted to reach as high as 23 mph.
In the Delta region north and west of the city, peak winds will be even stronger, with gusts up to 50 mph, meteorologist Eric Kurth said from the weather service’s Sacramento office.
“We’re getting this pattern, which is not unusual for the fall,” Kurth said. Cold weather systems move south from Alaska only to be trailed by high-pressure building behind them. The differential of the two systems creates high winds.