March 29, 2024
Northern California treading water in atmospheric river
SAN JOSE - Weary from one of the wettest winters in years, Bay Area residents suffered through another chaotic commute on Tuesday, as the latest “atmospheric river” to soak the region triggered traffic madness from the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Not only was the main connector between Silicon Valley and Santa Cruz closed indefinitely, but every other route over the Santa Cruz Mountains was cut off too. The closed roads included Highway 9, Bear Creek Road, Old Santa Cruz Highway and San Jose-Soquel Road, all of which had mudslides, according to CHP.

Tuesday’s storm delivered as much as 6 inches of rain in 24 hours to some locations.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for the Napa River near St. Helena and the San Lorenzo River in Felton, which was about 3 feet above flood level at 10 a.m. KSBW TV reported firefighters rescued some residents trapped by the floodwaters between Santa Cruz and Felton.

As of 2 p.m., Tilden Park in Oakland had received 3 inches of rain and Mount Diablo received nearly 4 inches. San Francisco and Oakland received more than 1 inch of rain while Santa Rosa received nearly 3 inches.

Along the Peninsula, San Francisquito Creek at Highway 101, just north of Embarcadero Road, neared flood stage, according to the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The East Palo Alto Police Department called for a voluntary evacuation of the Woodland Creek Condominiums.

The storm also resulted in power outages to thousands of PG&E customers across the Bay Area.

A second storm system is expected to arrive Thursday. A “classic cold front” from the Gulf of Alaska will move quickly through the Bay Area, National Weather Service forecaster Brian Mejia said. A quarter-inch to half-inch of rain is expected to fall in most urban locations and 1 to 3 inches in higher elevations.

Things will start to dry out Saturday, when a ridge of high pressure begins to build over the Bay Area, according to the weather service. Sunny skies with temperatures in the low 60s are predicted for the weekend. (Source: San Jose Mercury)
Story Date: February 10, 2017
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