SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS Radio) -- Updated 9 am A strong storm slammed into the Bay Area Wednesday morning, pouring rain onto early commuters and raising concerns about flooding and landslides.
The "atmospheric river" storm, fed by a long plume of moisture, deluged the Sonoma County hamlet of Venado with 4.80" of rain in a 12-hour period Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Other Sonoma and Marin County locations reported heavy rain as well: 3.27" at Bodega Bay, 2.67" in Santa Rosa, and 2.53" at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael as of 9 am Wednesday.
The National Weather Service posted a Flash Flood Watch and a High Wind Warning for the Bay Area, both effective until 10 am Thursday.
Minor flooding was reported on numerous Bay Area roadways. The KCBS Radio Traffic Center reported over 100 active traffic incidents at 8:10 am.
Road problems included a pothole reported on westbound Interstate 80 at Cummings Skyway in Crockett and a mudslide affecting traffic on westbound Highway 92 in San Mateo County, near Skyline Boulevard.
Moderate flooding was reported on the Laguna de Santa Rosa in the Cotati area and along Colgan Creek in Sebastopol as well as Green Valley Creek at Martinelli Road in Sonoma County. The Petaluma River had reached flood stage of 8.4 feet at the D Street Bridge in Petaluma.
The real worry about flooding comes Thursday and Friday. The Russian River and the San Lorenzo River are both forecast to keep rising and crest at or above flood stage later in the week.
North of the Bay Area, the storm was dumping massive amounts of snow. Northbound lanes of Interstate 5 were closed 10 miles north of Redding, and Redding's public power utility called for help in dealing with a major power outage.
We are requesting mutual aid from our #PublicPower friends who helped us during the #StrongerThanCarr Fire. There is major damage to our system. Please prepare for more trees to fall as the snow turns to rain and watch for flooding. Do not approach downed power lines. #BeSafe
— Redding Electric Utility - REU (@ReddingElectric) February 13, 2019Redding Mayor Julie Winter told KCBS Radio the power failed across a wide swath of her city at about 4 am. Heavy snow is being blamed for bringing down tree limbs and power lines. "I can't remember the last time we got this level of snow," said Winter, estimating at least 8 inches on the ground in Redding.
