Massive, Wet Storm Slams California And Nevada Forcing Evacuations As Rivers Rise
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP/BCN) -- Across the Bay Area Sunday, stranded motorists were pulled from cars on flooded roads, falling trees smashed cars, highways were closed and rivers swelled to flood stage. In northern Nevada, hundreds of homes were evacuated as a massive winter storm, likely the biggest in more than a decade, slammed into the region.
Crews cleared trees and debris Sunday following mudslides caused by steady rain accompanying the system that could dump 15 inches in the foothills of the Sierra and heavy snow on the mountain tops before it is expected to move east early Monday. Forecasters warned a second storm is expected to hit the already drenched area Monday night.
The storm surge stretching all the way from Hawaii -- called an atmospheric river -- came as California entered its sixth year of drought. Each drop of rain is welcomed but officials said several more big storms are needed to replenish depleted groundwater supplies.
In Northern California, toppled trees on Sunday crashed against cars and homes or blocked roads in the San Francisco Bay Area, and officials rescued stranded motorists from cars stuck on flooded roads on Sunday. A giant tree fell across the southbound lanes of Interstate 230 in Hillsborough, injuring one driver who couldn't break in time and drove into the tree. A woman was killed Saturday by a falling tree while she took a walk on a San Francisco Bay Area golf course.
There were mudslides and flooding throughout Northern California that led to road closures, especially in the North Bay, one of the areas hardest hit and where the Napa River jumped its banks.
Both directions of U.S. Highway 101 in Gilroy were closed for a time Sunday night when Uvas Creek overflowed its banks and flooded the highway, beginning around 7:30 p.m.
Sonoma County officials advised residents and visitors in the low-lying areas along the Russian River at Monte Rio and Guerneville to evacuate because the river was expected to reach flood stage
and overflow its banks by late Sunday night. The river was expected to crest Monday morning at 36 to 38 feet and remain above flood stage until 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
A voluntary evacuation order was issued Sunday evening for residents along the Big Sur River from Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park to Andrew Molera State Park in Monterey County because of possible flooding, a sheriff's sergeant said. The river was expected to be back within its banks by around 11 p.m.
NORTHERN SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA
All westbound lanes of Interstate 80 near Donner Lake west of Truckee, California were closed indefinitely Sunday night because of a large mudslide. The westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 50 near Kyburz also were blocked.
In Nevada, emergency officials voluntarily evacuated a total of 400 homes affecting about 1,300 residents in a south Reno neighborhood Sunday afternoon as the Truckee River began to leave its banks and drainage ditches started to overflow south of U.S. Interstate 80
No injuries had been reported, but high waters forced the closure of numerous area roads, a series of bridges in downtown Reno and a pair of Interstate 80 off-ramps in neighboring Sparks, where the worst flooding is expected to send several feet of water early Monday into an industrial area where 25,000 people work.
Bob Elsen of Sparks said he saw plenty of wet weather in his former hometown of Bremerton, Washington, but he didn't expect it in Nevada's high desert where only 8 inches of precipitation falls annually on average.
"I don't think I've seen this much rain since I moved here six years ago," Elsen said as he watched the Truckee River's waters rise in Sparks. "It's why I moved out of Washington to get away from this stuff."
An avalanche also closed a portion of the Mount Rose Highway connecting Reno to Lake Tahoe for the second time in three days after more than 6 feet of snow fell atop the Sierra last week.
Schools were ordered closed Monday throughout the Reno-Sparks area. Gov. Brian Sandoval -- who declared a state of emergency on Saturday -- told all non-essential state employees to stay home Monday.
CENTRAL SIERRA AND FOOTHILLS
U.S. 395 highway was temporarily closed in both directions in Mono County because of flooding.
Authorities were watching rising water levels of several rivers, including the Cosumnes, Truckee, Merced, American and Russian.
All roads leading to Yosemite National Park's valley floor remained closed amid fears that the Merced River could overflow its banks and cause major flooding.
"It's kind of surreal how empty the park is. There's nobody here," said Gary Kazanjian, a freelance photographer who spent the night in Yosemite and drove out Sunday as part of a caravan of stragglers.
MORE WET WEATHER ON THE WAY
Forecasters said the storm will begin tapering off late Sunday but another storm is expected in the area by Monday night.
Relatively mild temperatures were driving up the snowline to above 9,000 feet throughout the Sierra Nevada, causing runoff in the lower elevations, where the ground is already saturated. Forecasters said Sunday it was tracking pretty much as they expected.
"For forecasters who've been here a decade or more, this is one of the most impressive atmospheric setups that we have seen in a long time for potential flooding in the region," said Chris Smallcomb, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Reno. "If you had to write a textbook on how to get a flood in the region, you would use a scenario just like this."
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