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.

The high school football playoffs are underway across California with several big games set for this weekend. Many of the state’s top running backs have helped lift their teams into position for a deep postseason run.

Here’s a look at 18 of California’s top high school running backs who are still in action this season.

Top 18 running backs in California high school football playoffs

Derrick Blanche Jr., De La Salle – senior (Portland State)

Blanche has been a very consistent performer for the Spartans over the past three seasons, closing in on 3,000 all-purpose yards. He’s scored 10 times on the ground each of the past two seasons and is headed to play at Portland State next season.

Jordon Davison, Mater Dei – senior (Oregon)

Running the ball for the nation’s top team, Davison has had a light workload. He’s rushed for 764 yards and 12 touchdowns, giving him 43 touchdowns in his four-year varsity career. He committed to Oregon in June after amassing 50 scholarship offers.

Koen Glover, St. Bonaventure – senior

Glover broke out with nearly 1,200 yards on the ground in 2023 and has followed that up with 1,584 through 10 games as a senior. He has 46 career touchdowns and has also contributed as a returner.

Brice Hawkins, Simi Valley – senior

Hawkins has carried the ball more than 450 times over the past two seasons, averaging more than seven yards per rush. This year, he’s run for nearly 1,500 yards and 28 touchdowns, adding more than 300 yards and five touchdowns through the air.

Dorian Hoze, Murrieta Valley – senior

Hoze broke out in 2023 and has improved on those numbers with 1,500 yards and 23 touchdowns through 10 games. He’s 33 yards shy of 3,600 for his career.

Carter Jackson, Folsom – senior (Nevada)

Jackson is averaging 10 yards per carry as a senior and has scored seven times on the ground this year, giving him 50 for his career.

Kingston Keanaaina, St. Francis – senior (BYU)

Keanaaina has rushed for more than 1,700 yards in 10 games this season and recently passed the 4,000-yard mark for his career. He’s found the end zone 16 times this year while averaging over eight yards per carry.

Dominic Kelley, De La Salle – senior

Paired with Blanche, Kelley has averaged more than nine yards per carry this season and has scored 28 touchdowns over three varsity seasons.

Sean Morris, Loyola – junior

Morris has gone over 1,100 rushing yards for the second consecutive year and sits at 1,597 total yards with 16 touchdowns through 11 games. Kansas is among the many schools that have extended a scholarship offer.

Deshonne Redeaux, Oaks Christian – junior

Redeaux has gone over the 100-yard mark six times in nine games, scoring 12 touchdowns through last week. Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State are among his nearly 30 scholarship offers.

Jamar Searcy, Pittsburg – senior (Washington State)

Searcy has contributed to all three phases for the Pirates. He’s racked up 1,257 yards and 17 touchdowns on offense, also grabbing two interceptions on defense.

Brandon Smith, Central (Fresno) – junior

Smith has nearly doubled his output from a year ago, rushing for nearly 1,500 yards and 19 touchdowns through 12 games. He’s also reeled in 23 passes for 230 yards.

Max Turner, Granite Hills – senior (Utah Tech)

Turner has taken his game to the next level as a senior, rushing for more than 1,500 yards in 10 regular season games. He’s scored 47 touchdowns over the past two years and recently committed to Utah Tech.

Alexander Villanueva, Monte Vista – senior

Villanueva has gone over the 200-yard mark in a game seven times this season including each of the past four. He rushed for a career-high 365 yards in last week’s 47-46 playoff win.

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.