High surf and runoff from heavy rains combined to flood several blocks in Santa Cruz, and strong waves toppled wooden piers in the nearby town of Capitola and nearby Seacliff State Beach.
Further north, shock waves burst through the back doors of the historic Point Cabrillo lighthouse in Mendocino County, flooding its ground-floor museum, the Mendocino Voice newspaper reported.
The two-day storm, which ended on Thursday (January 5) night, was fueled by an immense atmospheric flow of moisture from the tropical Pacific and a widespread, hurricane-scale low pressure system known as as a bomb cyclone.
