Deadly Combination Of Bomb Cyclone, Atmospheric River Drenches West Coast

A satellite image showing a powerful bomb cyclone over the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 4, 2023. California has been hit with weather storms in the last two days. NOAA/ACCUWEATHER

The severe storm caused significant damage to piers in Capitola, above, splitting it in half, and in Seacliff in Santa Cruz County near San Jose, California, on Jan. 4, 2023. Northern California experience the most in the weather storm compared to Southern California. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY/ACCUWEATHER

At least two people died in the bomb cyclone that struck the West Coast Wednesday into Thursday — the second massive storm to hit the coast in less than a week.

Fueled by an atmospheric river from the Pacific Ocean, the potent storm unleashed a fury of strong wind and rain across the West Coast that quickly turned deadly. A 19-year-old woman from Fairfield, California, was killed Wednesday morning when her car hydroplaned on a partially flooded road and crashed into a utility pole, according to the Fairfield Police Department. Fairfield is located in Solano County, nearly 40 miles northeast of San Francisco.

The second fatality was reported Wednesday evening, also in the San Francisco region, in Occidental, Sonoma County, after .