Atmospheric river brings 10-20 inches of rain to Northern California, triggering flooded roads, landslides
As the rain totals steadily rise, the threat of life-threatening flash flooding, rock slides and debris flows will increase. More than 300 people stranded by floodwaters in Northern California.
California and Oregon blasted with rain and snow from the Atmospheric River
Northern California is being slammed by an intense atmospheric river which is bringing extreme amounts of rain and snow to the area, as well as southern Oregon.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - The strongest atmospheric river of the autumn season so far drenched Northern California with several inches of rain, leading to mudslides, flooded highways and multiple water rescues.
The Northern Bay Area took the brunt of the onslaught, with rainfall totals reaching 10 to even 20 inches in Sonoma County. A gauge in Cazadero reported 21.39 inches over the three day stretch of Wednesday-Friday. Healdsburg recorded 17.75 inches while Santa Rosa set a 72-hour rainfall record with 12.68 inches.
The foot of rain in Santa Rosa overwhelmed drainage systems and local creeks and rivers. At one point Thursday, floodwaters stranded more than 300 people at a hotel and medical clinic, fire officials told FOX 2 San Francisco.
KTVU: Santa Rosa flooded by Atmospheric River trapping hundreds at Sutter Health clinic
Rising floodwaters in Santa Rosa stranded more than 300 people at a hotel and medical clinic, Santa Rosa Fire officials told KTVU Thursday, Jana Katsuyama reports.
Cars were trapped in parking lots as waters rose. But later in the afternoon, as the waters receded, Sutter Health was evacuated.
Another water rescue was needed after a car in Healdsburg became trapped in 3 feet of water, according to an NWS storm report.
SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 21: Santa Rosa police officers Ken Ferrigno (R) and Shannon Diana help an elderly woman walk through a flooded parking lot outside of Sutter Health on November 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, California. A (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
CAL Fire's swift water team rescued two people and a dog from a flooded roadway in North Chico just after midnight, according to video posted to their social media.
Several roads were closed between Santa Rosa and Windsor due to flooding, and Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies reported between 7-10 water rescues along Mark West Springs Road.
The Russian River in Guernerville was forecast to reach near moderate flood stage.
Swift water rescue in North Chico, CA amid Atmospheric River
CAL Fire's swift water team rescued two people and a dog from a flooded roadway in North Chico just after midnight, according to video posted to their social media (@CALFIRE_ButteCo).
The National Weather Service reports multiple trees have fallen along stretches of US 101 in far northern California due to strong winds, and there have been nearly 20 landslides between Wednesday and Thursday.
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Image 1 of 18A stranded couple hold onto their vehicle that became stuck in flood water in Windsor, California on November 22, 2024. A "bomb cyclone" was lashing the western United States bringing hurricane-force winds that have killed at least two people and left half a million without power. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 2 of 18An aerial view shows a van stuck on a flooded road in Windsor, California on November 22, 2024. A bomb cyclone has been wreaking havoc on the west coast bringing flooding and winds throughout the region. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 3 of 18Santa Rosa police officers Ken Ferrigno (R) and Shannon Diana help an elderly woman walk through a flooded parking lot outside of Sutter Health on November 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, California. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rains and wind to the San Francisco Bay Area for a second day and is expected to rain through the weekend. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 4 of 18A car sits submerged in floodwater on November 21, 2024, in Windsor, California. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rains and wind to the San Francisco Bay Area for a second day and is expected to rain through the weekend. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 5 of 18Santa Rosa police officer Ken Ferrigno carries a young girl through a flooded parking lot outside of Sutter Health on November 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, California. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rains and wind to the San Francisco Bay Area for a second day and is expected to rain through the weekend. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) ( )
![Crash near Chico]()
Image 6 of 18A semi truck slides off a rain-soaked road near Chico, Calif. on Nov. 21, 2024. (California Highway Patrol)
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Image 7 of 18A vineyard is flooded as rain moves through the area on November 21, 2024, in Forestville, California. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rains and wind to the San Francisco Bay Area for a second day and is expected to rain through the weekend. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 8 of 18Robert Honeyman walks along Weed Blvd. during the snow storm that closed I-5 in both directions in Weed, Calif., on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. The area is getting hit by significant weather throughout the week due to a bomb cyclone off the coast. (Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 9 of 18Santa Rosa police officers turn back a car attempting to drive through a flooded parking lot outside of Sutter Health on November 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, California. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rains and wind to the San Francisco Bay Area for a second day and is expected to rain through the weekend. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 10 of 18Santa Rosa firefighters walk through a flooded parking lot outside of Sutter Health on November 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, California. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rains and wind to the San Francisco Bay Area for a second day and is expected to rain through the weekend. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 11 of 18A tow truck prepares to pull a stranded car out of a flooded parking lot outside of Sutter Health on November 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, California. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rains and wind to the San Francisco Bay Area for a second day and is expected to rain through the weekend. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 12 of 18A flood gauge stands on floodwater on November 21, 2024, in Windsor, California. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rains and wind to the San Francisco Bay Area for a second day and is expected to rain through the weekend. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) ( )
![Workers remove a mangled car after a collision between a downed tree and a vehicle amidst the ongoing atmospheric river event in Loleta, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024.]()
Image 13 of 18Workers remove a mangled car after a collision between a downed tree and a vehicle amidst the ongoing atmospheric river event in Loleta, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
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Image 14 of 18Cars drive through a flooded street on November 21, 2024, in Forestville, California. An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rains and wind to the San Francisco Bay Area for a second day and is expected to rain through the weekend. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 15 of 18Rescue crews check a flooded road in Windsor, California on November 22, 2024. A bomb cyclone has been wreaking havoc on the west coast bringing flooding and winds throughout the region. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 16 of 18Gabe Sitton drives his truck ahead of another driver on Slusser Road in Windsor, California on November 22, 2024. A bomb cyclone has been wreaking havoc on the west coast bringing flooding and winds throughout the region. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 17 of 18County workers assess a mudslide in a residential area of unincorporated Sonoma County, California on November 22, 2024. A bomb cyclone has been wreaking havoc on the west coast bringing flooding and winds throughout the region. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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Image 18 of 18A truck splashes through a flooded road in Windsor, California on November 22, 2024. A bomb cyclone has been wreaking havoc on the west coast bringing flooding and winds throughout the region. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
A boulder that fell into the middle of Highway 281 in Clearlake Riviera caused an accident. Rocks blocked both lanes of Highway 20 in Sarasota Springs.
(FOX Weather)
A landslide in Redway hurled rocks at a car on its way down, but there were no reports of injuries in any of the slides.
Flooded freeways snarl traffic across a soggy Bay Area Friday
The plume of moisture sagged south into the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday, making for miserable commutes. Flash Flood Warnings covered the heart of Downtown San Francisco into the mid-afternoon, then shifted into Oakland and the East Bay for Friday evening.
Rain gauges in San Francisco measured over 4 inches in spots. CalTrans reported standing water and flooded lanes led to stalled cars on busy Interstates 280 and 580 in San Francisco and Oakland, respectively, along with US 101 and California Route 17 in the South Bay.
The rain and blustery wind was too much for a massive 60-foot tree in the heart of San Francisco. It toppled at Sansome and Pacific Streets, damaging a car along the way.
60-foot tree falls in San Francisco
A 60-foot tree fell amid heavy rains and gusty winds during an atmospheric river in San Francisco. (Video courtesy: San Francisco Fire Dept.)
No one was injured.
NORTHEAST BLASTED BY SNOW, BENEFICIAL RAIN AS MAJOR AIRPORT HUBS FACE THANKSGIVING TRAVEL DELAYS
Damaging winds hit the West Coast and mountains
Aside from the rain, blistering winds swept across the northern half of the state, fueled by the storm's nearby powerful low pressure center. The coastal wind gauge at Mattole Road in Humbolt County south of Eureka clocked a gust of 98 mph Friday morning.
At elevation, Palisades Tahoe recorded a gust of 128 mph at its summit, which is 8,600 feet above sea level.
Strong winds, high waves strike California coast as bomb cyclone hits
Strong wind and high waves were striking the California coast on Wednesday as the effects of a bomb cyclone started to be felt. Footage filmed by Shreenivasan Manievannan shows him and his wife walking in windy conditions and high waves crashing against a pier in Pacifica.
Gusts swept into the Bay Area too, with multiple measurements in the higher hills reaching over 60 mph. A gauge outside of Livermore measured a gust of 73 mph while Montara hit 69 mph.
Heavy snows come to Siskiyous, Sierra Nevada
Like most atmospheric rivers, this one has dumped several inches of snow in the Siskiyous and Sierra Nevada. Castle Peak reported 20 inches of snow through 4 a.m. Thursday with 17 inches at Soda Springs and 11 inches at Kingvale.
The northbound lanes of Interstate 5 were closed north of Redding into the Siskiyous for a period Wednesday evening due to heavy snows, but the freeway has since reopened.
The snow has tapered off all but the highest peaks Thursday, as mild Pacific air flows in and snow levels skyrocket above 8,000 feet.
Atmospheric River dumps snow on Mount Shasta
Snow piles up in Mount Shasta, CA as a strong and impactful atmospheric river brings extreme amounts of rain and snow to northern California (Video credit: @DAWMtShasta /TMX).
Snow levels will plummet back down to 3,000 to 4,000 feet on Saturday as colder air moves into the region, which is below the major pass level and making driving conditions hazardous.
(FOX Weather)
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As much as 6 feet could fall across the highest peaks by Saturday's end. Up to 2 feet could fall along I-5 in the Mount Shasta region.
(FOX Weather)
To the north, a couple of inches will fall along I-5 as the system moves through Siskiyou Pass in southern Oregon.