5 dead as California suffers another bomb cyclone of heavy rain, snow

March 22 (UPI) -- A so-called bomb cyclone of weather moving through California has killed five people in the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said Wednesday.

ABC News reported that at least five people have been killed in the San Francisco Bay Area, including four killed by falling trees and limbs.

"If you live in this area, please pack your 'Go Bag,' with all necessary essentials: insurance policy, pets, medications, a change of clothes, and LEAVE NOW," San Mateo County officials said in a Twitter post Wednesday. "Once the road gives out completely, residents in that area will not have access to emergency services for the foreseeable future."

Much of the state is dealing with flooding and record snowfall after being battered by what meteorologists called a "bomb cyclone," which developed off the coast of San Francisco Tuesday when the atmospheric pressure dropped 24 millibars in 17 hours, producing the strongest March storm ever recorded in the Bay Area.

The Sierra Nevada was expected to see up to five feet of snow and winds of 60 mph.

The storm also caused a train delay in Martinez, 35 miles east of San Francisco. The train was carrying 55 passengers when it struck a downed tree on the tracks, according to Amtrak officials. No injuries were reported.

Wind gusts reached 100 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles.

After exiting California, the storm is expected to move east and bring severe weather to parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and the southeast. The National Weather Service has warned of a possible tornado outbreak in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.

Heavy snow is expected to affect parts of the plains and into Minnesota and North Dakota.