San Francisco Tries to Blame National Weather Service for Poor Storm Response

San Francisco in the rain (Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty)
Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty
Joel B. Pollak

The City of San Francisco is attempting to blame the National Weather Service (NWS) for the poor local response to last week’s rains, which saw “sewer geysers” in some neighborhoods, and extensive flooding.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported:

City officials squarely blamed a lack of preparation on incorrect weather forecasts from the National Weather Service — but the agency disputes that and has communications with the city to back it up.

…

Officials said that San Francisco was not prepared for the New Year’s Eve downpour because the National Weather Service indicated only half an inch to three quarters of an inch of rain would fall. The Chronicle was unable to determine where that number came from based on NWS forecasts.

Yet, San Francisco had been included within the boundaries of a flood watch issued by the National Weather Service days in advance that encompassed the entire Bay Area, and NWS spokesperson Susan Buchanan disputed the characterization that the agency had failed to indicate the potential for serious rainfall.

Rainfall predictions increased over time, as it became clear that the storm would bring historic levels of precipitation to the area. On New Year’s Eve, the city’s total rainfall fell just shy of its single-day record.

As Breitbart News reported, the disruption to life in the city was extensive, including major flooding:

The city ran short of sandbags this week as another “atmospheric river” — this time, powered by a “bomb cyclone” of low pressure — arrived. More such “rivers” are expected to drench the city in the coming days, denting the state’s three-year drought and bringing hope to farmers and water users throughout California.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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