Lingering rains soak Bay Area; High surf triggers Santa Cruz evacuation warning
The remnants of the drenching storm that soaked the greater Bay Area Friday night continued to bring scattered showers to the region Saturday morning, while high surf in Santa Cruz County triggered some evacuation warnings.
The risk of powerful waves has had parts of Santa Cruz County under an evacuation warning since 10 p.m. The warning impacts the area of Capitola Village, Esplanade Rio Del Mar and Pajaro Dunes. Residents were advised to temporarily relocate and be prepared for a mandatory evacuation order if needed.
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The area already saw some major impacts Thursday as high surf pounded Capitola, Seacliff State Beach and Rio Del Mar, with some businesses reporting flooding.
A coastal flooding and high-surf advisory remains in effect for the Central and Northern California Coast through 2 p.m. Saturday. Waves up to 26-30 feet are possible
⚠Coastal Flood and High Surf Warnings remain out now through 2 PM today! Breaking waves up to 26-30 feet are possible. Stay away from the water! Keep off rocks, piers and jetties! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/fpLGKDTFLH
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) December 30, 2023
The heavy rains Friday caused problems on the roads across the Bay Area.
A portion of U.S. Highway 101 in San Mateo County was closed for a time due to flooding early Saturday morning, Caltrans said.
The northbound and southbound lanes were reopened about 2:30 a.m. after being closed between Willow Road in Menlo Park and Marsh Road in Redwood City, Caltrans said.
Officials also reported that State Route 9 was closed in Santa Clara County from Redwood Gulch Road to Sanborn Road due to mudslide removal. It reopened shortly after 12 p.m.
Heavy rain Friday turned a Sonoma County road into a rushing river just outside of Windsor, rendering it impassable through the evening. Further north in Cloverdale, a fallen tree took out a deck on River Road.
The National Weather Service Saturday forecast for the greater San Francisco Bay Area calls for a chance of thunderstorms across the region into the morning hours as part of a storm that arrived Friday. While the precipitation was not expected to be as intense as it was Friday night, there were still some storm cell delivering moments of heavy rain early Saturday.
Showers are likely to continue until Saturday afternoon with highs in the low 60s and winds of up to 20 mph. On Saturday night, there is still a chance of showers and lows in the region will reach the high 30s.
Rain total in the Bay Area and greater Northern California ranged from half an inch to an inch and a half in most places, though parts of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey County and Big Sur received between two and four inches.
Here are estimated rainfall totals over the past 36 hours. #CAwx #BayAreaWX pic.twitter.com/LEgdaLrTCE
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) December 30, 2023
On Sunday, it is mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and highs in the mid 50s. Mostly cloudy weather forecast around the region may affect firework shows to celebrate New Year's Day at the start of Monday.