Update: Overnight blast from atmospheric river pushes swollen rivers to the brink
GUERNEVILLE -- The latest atmospheric river roared into the San Francisco Bay Area early Monday, triggering flooding, water rescues in Felton and evacuations in Soquel and Vacaville.
Of particular concern, the National Weather Service said, was flooding at the Russian River at Johnson's Beach near Guerneville, Alameda Creek near Niles Canyon, Coyote Creek above Hwy 237 at Milpitas, the Big Sur River, Carmel River at Robles Del Rio, the San Lorenzo River at Big Trees and the Guadalupe River above Almaden Expressway.
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At around 7 a.m., the San Lorenzo River went over its banks, triggering evacuations in the Felton Grove and Paradise Park areas. Residents trapped by the rising waters were rescued by firefighters.
Soquel Creek had reached action stage with evacuations along Soquel Wharf road underway.
An evacuation warning has also been issued in one Vacaville neighborhood as concerns grow over the Putah Canal and Alamo Creek.
View evacuation map, county emergency information for your area
The warning is in effect for residents in the Southwood Place area. Residents south of Marshall Road, east of Peabody, north of Alamo and west of the Putah Canal are listed in the evacuation warning.
Several neighborhoods in Watsonville were also asked to evacuate.
The weather service had issued a flood watch for the entire Bay Area into Tuesday. Over the span, forecasters said the valleys will be getting 2-5 inches of rain, the Bay Area hills 4-7 inches and 6-12 inches in the mountains.
"As of writing," weather service forecasters wrote at 5:20 a.m. "We are seeing rainfall rates of 0.5 to 0.75 inchs per hour in some areas of Marin, Sonoma, and Santa Cruz counties. Expect rates within this ballpark to continue through sunrise with precipitation gradually tapering off through the morning for the North Bay."
Meanwhile, the weather service issued a Flash Flood Warning for Monterey County. Later Monday morning, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office issued an evacuation order for low-lying areas of the Carmel River that was effective immediately.
The weather service also said there were slides in the Dolan burn area in Monterey County.
"At 8:20 a.m., gauge reports indicated heavy rain falling over the Dolan Burn Area," forecasters warned. "Between 3 and 8 inches of rain have fallen. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly. Excessive rainfall over the burn area will result in debris flow...The debris flow can consist of rock, mud, vegetation and other loose materials."
Strong winds also were part of the system as steady gusts up to 45 mph were being recorded across the region. As of 5:20 a.m., there were reports of 16,000 power outages with the number growing.
The deluge turned the early morning commute into a nightmare. As of 5:30 a.m., there were more than 60 incidents demanding CHP attention on Bay Area roadways.
Minor flooding was a major headache for drivers. KPIX morning reporter Justin Andrews was among the drivers braving the weather.
Rockslides were impacting drivers along Bear Creek Rd near Hwy 35 in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
A massive boulder rolled onto the road on Pine Flat Rd. in Geyserville.
In San Bruno, wind and steady rain toppled a massive tree into a home and onto a parked car in the 3800 block of Pacific Heights Blvd. The tree fell around 3 a.m. Fortunately. there were no injuries reported.
As the damaging atmospheric river rolled through the San Francisco Bay Area, President Joe Biden approved Gov. Gavin Newsom's request for federal disaster aid.
Biden's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the series of storms.
The counties covered by the emergency declaration include El Dorado, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Ventura.
Newsom said 12 people have lost their lives as a result of violent weather during the past 10 days.
"Just be cautious over the course of the next week, particularly the next day or two or so," Newsom said during a briefing with California officials outlining the state's storm preparations.
During a winter storm update, Newsom said to expect the worst of the storm and "very intense weather" in the next 48 hours.
"Don't test fate," Newsom said during the Sunday update. "Just a foot of water and your car's floating, you know, half a foot of water and you're off your feet."
State Climatologist Michael Anderson said at a news briefing late Saturday that officials were closely monitoring Monday's storm and another behind it and were keeping an eye on three other systems farther out in the Pacific.
