High tides and heavy rain inundate sections of California’s Bay Area
High tides coupled with intense rainfall have inundated various areas of the Bay Area, leading to road closures and rescues for individuals stranded in their vehicles. Five counties in the north remained under a flood warning, with forecasts indicating as much as 3 inches (7.6 cm) of rain could fall by Monday night in regions that have experienced intermittent heavy rain since around Christmas, according to the National Weather Service office in Eureka. Additionally, mountains are expected to receive at least a foot (0.3 meters) of snow. A “king tide,” which refers to the highest predicted tide of the year at coastal locations, led to floodwaters reaching 2.56 feet in San Francisco on Saturday, the highest level recorded since 1998, as reported by SFGate. A woman is seen carrying a young girl through floodwaters engendered by a king tide in Sausalito, California, on Friday. Photograph: Jessica Christian/AP “This is close to record levels for the San Francisco Bay Area,” remarked Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service, to the media. More rain is anticipated in northern California over the upcoming day, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a coastal flood advisory for the Bay Area, which is valid until 3 PM on Monday. On Saturday, the San Francisco fire department rescued an adult who was hanging onto a rope in the water, which the city’s emergency management department shared on social media. Some individuals navigated flooded streets in kayaks, while others waded through waters that were knee-deep. Emergency services were called to help when vehicles became trapped in water that measured as high as 3 to 4 feet, according to Marin County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Dobbins on Saturday. “I’ve been here for the King Tides and have never seen anything this high. Never,” stated Jeremy Hager of San Rafael during an interview with KTVU-TV. Flooding has been recorded across Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties. Storm chaser Colin McCarthy, who runs the @US_Stormwatch account on X, shared video of water surging through San Carlos, located 25 miles south of San Francisco, on Sunday afternoon. “It’s the worst I’ve ever experienced,” Julia Pfahl, a 36-year-old employee at a local surf shop, remarked to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Everyone is panicking; no one knows how to drive in this – I noticed a car near the Holiday Inn… with water up to its windows. Did they truly believe they could drive through that?” Southern California has also faced severe rainfall recently, which has led to flooding and mudslides. Hundreds had to evacuate a homeless shelter in San Diego this week due to flooding. An employee at a restaurant hastens to relocate his vehicle as floodwaters prompted by a king tide engulf the eatery’s parking area in Sausalito, California, on Friday. Photograph: Jessica Christian/APFurther south, in Santa Barbara County, a major highway was reopened on Sunday after being blocked for most of the weekend in the vicinity of Goleta owing to multiple mudslides. Tragically, a man lost his life after being swept into a creek during the storm, as confirmed by the sheriff’s office on Saturday. Portions of Santa Barbara County received over 4 inches of rain within two days, according to the weather service on Sunday. The heavy downpour resulted in the cancellation of all flights in and out of Santa Barbara airport after several runways became flooded. Rain is also predicted to persist in the southern region of the state until Tuesday. “Millions in Southern California are experiencing one of the wettest beginnings to winter on record,” McCarthy noted. Associated Press contributed reporting
Published: 2026-01-04 23:41:00
source: www.theguardian.com
