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February Atmospheric River Forecasted to Bring Significant Rain to Northern California

02/26/2019

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) meteorologists are forecasting an atmospheric river that will bring significant rain fall to Northern California Monday afternoon through Wednesday morning.

The storm is not expected to be as strong as prior events this winter, but additional heavy rain on saturated soils will bring risk of flooding. Heaviest rain fall is expected Monday afternoon into Wednesday accompanied by breezy to gusty southerly winds.

The incoming weather could potentially bring 4 to 8 inches in the wetter locations with locally heavier amounts. The heaviest rain is projected to impact areas north of San Francisco to Tahoe. This system will keep snow levels generally above 4,500 feet, but heavy snow is likely to affect travel and potentially cause outages at higher elevations.

“As another storm impacts Northern California, customers should be prepared for potential outages related to wet and windy weather the next few days. Possible flooding and heavy snow at high elevations could have an impact on travel across our service area,” said PG&E principal meteorologist Mike Voss.

PG&E’s meteorology team has developed a Storm Outage Prediction Model that incorporates real-time weather forecasts, historical data, and system knowledge to predict where and when storm impacts will be most severe. This model enables the company to pre-stage crews and equipment as storms approach to enable rapid response to outages.

Safety reminders

  • If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it—and keep yourself and others away. If you see damaged power lines or electrical equipment, call 911 immediately and then notify PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
  • If a power line falls across a car that you're in, stay in the car. If you must get out of the car due to a fire or other immediate life-threatening situation, do your best to jump clear of the car and land on both feet. Be sure that no part of your body is touching the car when your feet touch the ground.
  • During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, keep them away from drapes, lampshades and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
  • Don't use grills or other outdoor appliances or equipment indoors for space heating or cooking, as these devices may omit carbon monoxide. Customers with generators should make sure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to crews working on power lines. Operate your generator outside. Never operate it inside a building or garage.
  • If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.
  • Check and restock your emergency kits with flashlights, batteries, bottled water, non-perishable foods, medicines, etc. Also, ensure a portable, battery-operated radio, TV or NOAA radio is on hand.
  • If you are driving and encounter emergency vehicles with activated lights and sirens, remember to move over; it's the law in California.

Outage information

For more information about outages and ways to prepare and stay safe during the storm, please visit www.pge.com/stormsafety.

If outages occur, customers can find details and information on restoration by:

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 24,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and pge.com/news

Media Relations
415.973.5930

Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company

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