Yuba City Christmas Stroll canceled due to possible high winds

Shamaya Sutton, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·2 min read

Dec. 9—Saturday's Christmas Stroll in the Plumas Street shopping district of Yuba City was canceled Thursday due to a high wind advisory issued by the National Weather Service.

The decision to cancel the event came at around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, as voted upon by the board of the Yuba City Downtown Business Association. President of the board, Sandee Drown, said that to her knowledge this was the first time that the event had been canceled due to weather issues since 2009.

More than 120 vendors were signed up to participate in the event which had been scheduled to occur from 2-8 p.m. on Saturday. These vendors frequently set up tents and awnings to shield them from the elements, and while this is usually effective against the sun and rain, high winds could make this scenario a potential hazard.

"As much as we love having people come out to celebrate the holiday season, it just wouldn't be safe for our attendees or vendors," said Drown.

These high winds are the result of two more winter storms that will begin passing through the area today and through Monday. The National Weather Service (NWS) said that these storms are predicted to be stronger than last weekend and have the potential to cause some major travel issues going into the mountains.

"We're expecting dangerous, and extremely difficult to impossible mountain travel conditions with extended periods of whiteout conditions possible with this storm," said Hannah Cooley, a meteorologist with NWS Sacramento. "Then in the Valley we are expecting some widespread continuous rain throughout the weekend, as well as some gusty winds, both over the valley and in the mountains."

The wind advisory issued by the NWS will be in effect from 12 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday with expected winds speeds of 20-30 mph in the local area with gusts up to 45 mph.