SANTA ROSA, Calif. — A major storm pummeled Northern California with rain and snow on Wednesday night and threatened to cause flash flooding and rockslides in the latest wave of damaging weather to wash over the West Coast.

The National Weather Service extended a flood watch into Saturday for areas north of San Francisco as the strongest atmospheric river — a large plume of moisture flowing onshore — that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season inundated the region. The storm system unleashed winds the night before that left two people dead and hundreds of thousands without power in Washington state.

Up to 16 inches of rain (about 41 centimeters) was forecast in Northern California and southwestern Oregon through Friday. By Wednesday evening, some areas in Northern California had experienced heavy rain, including Santa Rosa, which had seen about 5 inches (about 13 centimeters) within 24 hours, according to Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Dangerous flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows were possible, officials warned. About a dozen small landslides had struck in northern California in the last 24 hours, including one on Highway 281 on Wednesday morning that caused a vehicle crash, said Chenard.

The National Weather Service in the Bay Area warned people that the atmospheric river was focused on the North Bay and to “expect heavy rain to continue tonight, Thursday into Friday. This will result in mudslides, road closures.”

The storm system, which first hit Tuesday, is considered a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.

A winter storm watch was in place for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet (1,066 meters), where 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow was possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph (121 kph) in mountain areas, forecasters said.

The storm had already dumped more than a foot of snow along the Cascades by Wednesday evening, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters warned of blizzard and whiteout conditions and near impossible travel at pass level.

In Washington, there were nearly 376,000 power outage reports Wednesday evening, resulting from strong winds and rain the night before, according to poweroutage.us. Falling trees struck homes and littered roads across western Washington, killing at least two people. One woman in Lynnwood was killed when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment, while another woman in Bellevue was killed when a tree fell on a home.

More than a dozen schools were closed in the Seattle area Wednesday and some opted to extend those closures through Thursday.

In California, there were reports of nearly 21,000 power outages as of Wednesday evening.

Southbound Interstate 5 was closed for an 11-mile (18-kilometer) stretch from Ashland, Oregon, to the California border on Wednesday morning due to extreme winter weather conditions in northern California, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. It was expected to be a long-term closure, the department said.

Hundreds of flights were delayed and dozens were canceled at the San Francisco International Airport, according to Flight Aware.

The weather service issued a flood watch for parts of southwestern Oregon through Friday evening, while rough winds and seas temporarily halted a ferry route in northwestern Washington between Port Townsend and Coupeville.

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Golden reported from Seattle.

California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have raised the state’s minimum wage to $18 per hour; the first failure of such an initiative nationwide in almost 30 years.

The tabulation came two weeks after Election Day due to the narrowing margin, as 49.2% of Californians ultimately supported the wage hike, falling just short.

The vote was geographically disparate, with every Bay Area and coastal county except San Luis Obispo, Orange, Ventura and Del Norte supporting the measure – and every inland county except Alpine and Imperial opposing it.

The current minimum wage in California is $16 per hour, but includes a $20 per hour exclusion for fast-food restaurants with 60 or more locations. The latter was instituted in 2023 with the approval of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

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“Californians are sending Gavin Newsom and the SEIU a clear message: They’re sick of being lab rats for their pet projects,” Rebekah Paxton, research director for the Employment Policies Institute said in a statement.

“Voters saw the devastating economic fallout of the $20 fast food minimum wage law, and for the first time in state history, voted against a statewide minimum wage hike.” 

Newsom, however, previously defended his support for wage hikes, saying the fast-food pay increase gave workers a “greater voice in workplace standards.”

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Newsom (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“Predictably, this modest law prompted fainting spells from conservatives and their enablers in the media,” he wrote in a Fox News Opinion column earlier this fall.

“Even before I signed the bill, they quickly said it would lead to devastating job cuts and cause scores of businesses to close.”

“We believe in fairness, equity and the idea that everyone deserves a chance to succeed. And these results dispel the cynics who say we must choose between protecting workers and growing the economy.”

California Chamber of Commerce CEO Jennifer Barrera appeared to disagree, telling the Associated Press after the outlet called the tally for Proposition 32 that the economy and personal costs were top of mind in the election, and that that message resonated with the voters.

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Millions of dollars were poured into support for the effort, according to CalMatters, which reported startup entrepreneur Joe Sanberg earmarked $10 million while spearheading the Proposition 32 effort. The outlet reported Democratic Los Angeles City Councilman and former state Senate President Kevin de Leon was a second prominent backer.

There have been about two dozen minimum-wage-hike ballot initiatives since 1996; the last time one failed.

In that election, Missourians declined to approve a hike to $6.75 and Montana decided against moving its minimum wage up to $6.25 per hour.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The season started Monday. We didn’t peak. These are out a couple days late, but promise, all were picked before any of the Southern Section squads got underway.

It’s hard to bet against the two-time defending Open Division champion Harvard-Westlake Wolverines, especially with the return of perhaps the state’s best two-way player in Nik Khamenia, a 6-8 power forward headed to Duke, and the addition of super shooter Joe Sterling.

Plus they have arguably the state’s best coach in David Rebibo. That’s a mouthful.

But St. John Bosco is simply that good, blessed with a trio of players that no one can match. Most of the rest of the state tips off next week. Until then, here’s a look at the state’s Top 25 with a lot of input from SBLive’s Tarek Fattal.

Note: Only teams that play for a CIF State California title were considered for this rankings, thus eliminating Prolific Prep of Napa Christian, which can and will play for both a mythical national title. On Tuesday, the Crew defeated the No. 1 team in the SBLive preseason national rankings.

Brandon McCoy, Elzie Harrington and Christian Collins make up arguable the best trio in California. Very talented group with an elite coach in Matt Dunn.Collins is expected to be eligible immediately after valid change of residence.

Nik Khamenia and new transfer Joe Sterling will be a savvy pair of experienced players bringing along a bevy of high-talented underclassmen under the guidance of David Rebibo. The Wolverines are the two-time defending CIF Open Division champions.

Brayden Burries, Issac Williamson, Myles Walker and Dominic Copenhagen make up a cohesive unit that reached the Open Division finals and CIF State Open regional final.

Tyran Stokes is nursing a wrist injury that could sideline him for the first few weeks of the season, but Lino Mark, Zach White and Caleb Ogbu can handle the heavy lifting until Stokes returns. With Stokes, the Knights will see themselves nationally ranked by various outlets.

The headliner of course is Baylor-bound and fourth-year starter Tounde Yessoufou, who is nearing 3,000 career points at a 29.0 per game clip to go along with 11.0, 2.8 steals and 1.7 blocks per outing in his career. But the Knights also boasts 4-star guard Julius Price, another four-year starter with offers to Minnesota and Washington. Other starters Gunner Morinini and Abdoul also return.

The defending Northern California Open champion graduated a ton but return Elias Obenah, Yale-bound Alvin Loving and two-sport standout Carlton Perrilliat among a host of others in an attempt to duplicate a nearly perfect season of sharing. Not a single Pride player averaged even 10 points per game last season.

The Crusaders were slated a few slots higher until it was learned Cal-bound guard Semetri Carr, who played with the Crusaders during an impressive June live period, decided to transfer from Branson-Ross to Redwood-Larkspur, his hometown public school. The Crusaders, the NorCal Open runner-up and two-time Central Coast Section Open champ, return loads of D1 talent, including 6-5 wing Jasir Rencher (Texas A&M commit), 6-9 post Steve Emenek, 4-star junior guard Andrew Hilman, Ryder Bush, along with transfers Kirby Seals (Santa Cruz), D.J. Armstrong (Branson). Watch out for 6-9 frontliner J.P. Phitvos.

The Lions will compete to win the Trinity League and are destined for the Open Division with returners Jarne Eyenga and Godschoice Eboigbodin, new transfers Brannon Martinsen (Mater Dei) and BJ Davis Ray (Duncanville), and rising sophomore Earl Bryson.

What a front line with Oklahoma-bound Alec Blair, a 6-6 senior who can play and defend anywhere, and 6-7 bangers David Balogun and Braddock Kjellevig. The pressure will be on the backcourt but returning starter Ibrahim Monawar, a 6-2 junior, back the Spartans sould be able to run with anyone.

The Eagles have a trio that should win them 20-plus games alone in Dallas Washington, Brayden Kyman and Drew Anderson. Newcomer Kaiden Bailey, who scored 30 points per game last year for Calvary Chapel gives SM a dynamic, superstar element in the backcourt.

Nothing new in Chatsworth. An influx of transfers (yet again) highlighted by Maximo Adams, Chris Nwuli and Gavin Hightower join returners Bryce Cofield, Bryce James and Jayden Alexander.

The Monarchs return guards Owen Verna and Luke Barnett. Forward Blake Davidson and junior Malloy Smith will be expected to play bigger roles this upcoming season. Evan Willis is a 6-foot-7 freshman wing to keep an eye out for.

Gavin Sykes, a 6-4 senior, and Stanford-bound Myles Jones came in late last season, beat De La Salle at NorCals and was edged barely by Salesian. Sykes and Jones return as does super sophomore Elijah Payne, Ryan Atkins (6-7) and Mason Brown. Coach Bruce Fantazia, one of the best in NorCal, will also coach Modesto Junior College this season.

The best from the San Diego Section, the Aztecs return their four leading scorers in J.J. Sanchez (19.8 points per game), Devin Hamilton (13.2), Xair Mendez (12.4) and Alek Sanchez (8.8). They don’t just score in bunches, they play so well together, and last year were in super synch. A year more in tune, there’s no reason to think they can’t get to 30 wins.

The NorCal Division 1 champion last season returns UC Irvine commit Luke Isaak to go along with Mason Thomas, Elliot Conley and Thomas Coney. Big teams might give the Wolves trouble, but with such strong guard play, helped by newcomer Tyler Smith, the Wolves could put together a 30-win season.

Redondo has a big three in Hudson Mayes, SJ Madison and Chris Sanders. Coach Reggie Morris will also have newcomer Chace Holly, a junior transfer from Lynwood, at his disposal.

Julien ‘Manu’ Gomez will be the senior leader, but the star is sophomore Gene Roebuck, who’s carrying offers to Kansas, UCLA and Cal. MJ Smith and King Riley will fill roles nicely. La Mirada has added some size, too, with Santiago Lopez (6-7) and Mayfair transfer Daquan Idemudia (6-5).

Nate Garcia is finally a senior. The 7-foot, All-CIF big man will be accompanied by Eli Gardner, Elijah Smith, Jacob Allen and sophomore Ziaire Rasshan. Spartans return nine of their top 10 players from last season. That’s a recipe for success under Mike LeDuc, who’s in his 45th season coaching.

Jason Crowe and his son Jason Crowe Jr. are now at Inglewood, along with three more impact transfers in Parker Jefferson (from Texas), David Conerly (Westchester) and Dwayne Boston Jr.

With more than 2,100 career points, Jake Hall has led the Lancers to 78 victories including last year’s sparkling 30-3 record when he gave up his scoring (18.9 per game) for the good of the team. Three junior guards — Briggs Young, Trenton Mehl and Jayden Garner — should help the Lancers to another 25- to 30-win season.

Forward Douglas Langford will be the leading force for St. Pius as he enters his senior season. Returner Omari Cuffe, Kayleb Kearse (Serra), Dayvion Gates and Jaden Erami (Bosco Tech) make for a good Donte Archie-led squad.

The Warriors return a dynamic duo that rivals anyone in SoCal when it comes to athleticism and length: Tae Simmons and Dillan Shaw. Sophomores Max Hackney and Dominc Loehle are primed for breakout seasons.

The Griffins are a savvy, veteran bunch led by returnrs Trent Minter, Wesley Trevino, Liam Gray, Tyler Lopez and Samori Guyness. All seniors and a junior (Lopez). Los Alamitos likes to play fast.

Coming off a 26-5 season, Pasadena possesses one of the biggest stock risers in SoCal in 6-foot-10 junior forward Josh Irving. Bulldogs return 11 players from last season.

The defending state Division 2 champions return the San Francisco Chronicle’s 2023-24 Player of the Year Ardarius Grayson, a 6-foot do-everything guard who did everything in the state finals: 20 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, five steals. Some transfers should help with those who graduated. Xan Meyer-Plettner (8.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Saddiq Alarbesh (9.1 ppg) should have even a bigger role.