New Storm Threatens Water-Logged Hillsides
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A small torrent of water continued to gush out of a San Rafael hillside Wednesday next the crushed remains of what was once a family's home.
The runoff bore witness to hillsides throughout the Bay Area that have become saturated after months of rainy weather.
In the South Bay, Caltrans crews continued to remove tons of rock and debris that had crashed down on Highway 17 – the main traffic artery through the Santa Cruz Mountains.
While southbound lanes of the busy highway reopened Tuesday night, crews are predicting the debris won't be cleared from the northbound lanes until about 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
And in Carmel, the world's greatest golfers and a collection of celebrities were scrambling to try and get a practice round in at Pebble Beach on the eve of the start of the 2017 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Tournament.
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Unfortunately, Mother Nature was also busy Wednesday, churning up another potent winter storm off the Northern California coast.
The National Weather Service was predicting the front would roll on shore early Thursday morning, bringing with it another deluge of downpours and gusty winds.
A wind advisory had been issued to begin at 7 a.m. Thursday with 15-30 mph winds it the lower elevations and gusts up to 60 mph in the hills.
Generally speaking, rainfall amounts of 1.25 inches to 3.00 inches were forecasted for the North Bay and coastal ranges.
As much as 5 inches could fall in the already rain-soaked Santa Cruz Mountains.
A Flood Warning remained in effect Wednesday for the Russian River near Guerneville. The weather service said gauges showed the river was slightly over its flood stage at 33.9 feet.
While it was expected to recede slightly during the day on Wednesday. A new round of intense showers could push the Russian River to 34 feet at which point flooding would begin at Johnsons Resort, Parkers Resort, Creekside Resort and Riverside Park. On Wednesday morning, Drake Road in Guerneville was closed because of flooding.