After a vicious New Year’s Eve storm that left parts of the Bay Area flooded and without power, residents are mopping up and bracing for another tempest that could carry an even more destructive punch.
“We have concerns in a lot of areas,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Brooke Bingaman about the upcoming “atmospheric river” storm that will start Wednesday. “There are going to be mudslides. There are going to be lots of downed trees. And that’s gonna happen across the entire Bay Area.”
The NWS said it expects the upcoming storm to bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to the Santa Clara Valley, San Francisco and East Bay, while slightly higher elevation areas in the region could receive 3 to 6 inches.
In the region’s mountainous areas – specifically in the North Bay, Mt. Tamalpais, the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia Range – up to 10 inches of rain could fall.
“Whatever you saw on the 31st (of December), be prepared to have similar impacts, if not worse,” Bingaman said.
VIDEO: Record-breaking atmospheric river floods Bay Area on New Year’s
Wednesday’s storm will carry heightened flood risks because recent rains in the Bay Area have left the soil saturated. Saturday’s storm saw record-breaking amounts of precipitation.
Areas especially at risk for flooding are the Santa Cruz Mountains, as well as Marin and Sonoma counties, according to the NWS. Bingaman said her agency is also keeping a close eye on wildfire burn scars in Monterey County, where there’s a heightened risk for mudslides.
Flooding throughout the region could last into Friday, according to estimates from the agency.
On Sunday, the Bay Area started its New Year off with a sunny, dry start — temperatures hovered in the 50s — after a weekend storm that closed roadways, trapped drivers, forced evacuations and overwhelmed creeks. One death was reported; a tree fell on a 72-year-old Santa Cruz resident at Lighthouse Field State Beach.
In hard-hit Sacramento County, emergency officials declared that failure of the Cosumnes River levee at the town of Wilton could be imminent, and ordered nearby residents to seek higher ground and others to shelter in place.
Saturday’s deluge saw downtown San Francisco record its second-wettest day in 173 years with 5.46 inches of rainfall Saturday, which was just shy of hitting the all-time record by 0.08 inches. The storm accounted for nearly half of all rainfall in December. Oakland was soaked with 4.75 inches of rain in 24 hours, beating out the previous record set back on Jan. 4, 1982, by just 0.01 inches.
One of the largest evacuations took place in rural Santa Cruz County, where the sheriff’s department and the Red Cross teamed up to relocate 27 people from a farmworker camp. In San Ramon, 13 residents were evacuated from a flooded neighborhood in the southern part of the city, authorities said.
Pleasant Hill resident Patsy Costello, 88, was among many keeping an eye on the weather Saturday even before the first raindrop fell, rivers started to rise and the floodwater began to swell up along her street.
While driving her son from an appointment, she knew the road in front of her was wet but continued on until she realized her mistake: The water was deeper than she anticipated. She was stuck, and water began rushing into her car.
With law enforcement nearby reluctant to take action, she found herself at the mercy of nurse Katie Leonard, who lives down the block and had a blow-up kayak ready to go. She paddled down.
“I saw no one was helping, and she told me she was cold, so I brought her blankets and snacks until she could be safely taken out of her car,” Leonard said.
Costello said Sunday that she was feeling just fine. “I went to a party last night with my gentleman friend, and I’m OK. My kids are all calling me. I’m a celebrity,” she said, referring to the media highlighting her story.
By midday Sunday, many roadways impacted by flooding had reopened, including Highway 101 at Oyster Point in South San Francisco.
But others still had issues.
In Hayward, a portion of A Street washed out near Fourth Street, going north toward Castro Valley, at the point where the street crosses San Lorenzo Creek. Police said the road will be closed indefinitely.
Elsewhere in Alameda County, flooding, debris and landslides between the cities of Fremont and Sunol shut down portions of Niles Canyon Road near Mission Boulevard, according to Caltrans’ social media. And some floodwaters remained along Whipple Road in Hayward, Redwood Road in Castro Valley and Gleason Drive in Dublin, according to the CHP.
In Palo Alto, El Camino Real remained flooded and closed in both directions under University Avenue, as well as between Alma Street and Wells Avenue, according to the city’s police department.
Near Santa Cruz, the California Highway Patrol reported that all northbound lanes on Highway 1 south of Highway 17 were closed due to debris. Motorists were being diverted to Ocean Street.
In southern Santa Clara County, the deluge filled the Uvas Reservoir, located north of Gilroy, to above its maximum capacity. On Sunday, the extra water was spilling out of the dam and into the nearby Uvas Creek.
Santa Clara Valley Water District Spokesperson Matt Keller said there weren’t any immediate concerns for flooding from the spillover – but Wednesday’s storm could potentially cause nearby Highway 101 and the Gilroy Sports Complex to flood due to high flows into the creek.
The heavy rains have even temporarily closed the Oakland Zoo until Jan. 17 — or possibly later — because of a massive sinkhole that is blocking cars from accessing the site.
As of Sunday, 106,000 people in the greater Northern California area were without power, according to Pacific Gas & Electric. Santa Cruz County was hit particularly hard with power issues and PG&E said it was forced to halt operations and remove work crews on Saturday due to hazardous conditions in the mountains. Work had begun again on Sunday, but many were still in the dark. Flooding and closed roadways were making it difficult for crews to get around, the utility company said.
Bay Area News Group editor Rebecca Parr and the Santa Cruz Sentinel contributed to this report.
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