One of the strongest rainstorms of the season hit the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday, with a small town in the North Bay receiving nearly seven inches of rain over the last 24-hour period, forecasters said.
At least 130 flights in and out of San Francisco International Airport were cancelled and about 360 were delayed for minutes to hours because of weather concerns, said Brian Horne, airport duty manager. As of 9 p.m. Thursday, flights were being delayed between one and four hours.
Venado, a remote former lumber town west of Healdsburg, was hit the hardest as the storm moved from the North Bay into San Francisco and the Central Coast.
Some creeks in those counties were over flood stages, and other areas were poised to get a good soaking later.
By nightfall, San Francisco had recorded more than an inch of rain over a 24-hour period, with areas further north seeing 2 to 4 inches and 5 to nearly 7 inches recorded in some areas of the Sierra Nevadas.
Flash flood watches and warnings were issued for areas up and down the state, especially those where brushfires had denuded hillsides and mountain slopes.
Here's a breakdown of how the storm impacted the region:
Local
San Francisco
The Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Control System said that weather and wind conditions at San Francisco International Airport caused some arriving flights to be delayed an average of three hours. High King Tides also caused streets to flood along the Embarcadero.
King Tides and rain picking up in SF along the Embarcadero. pic.twitter.com/RdPoK2XWLJ — Christie Smith (@christies_nbc) December 15, 2016
North Bay
Flash flood warnings were issued for Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties. By 11 a.m., the King Tides were higher than expected — 3.6 feet high instead of 3.1 feet — on Shoreline Highway in Mill Valley, causing some flooding for drivers in the area. A large tree closed Highway 116 just west of Forestville in Sonoma County.[[406807935, C]]
In Marin County, the sheriff's office said the county activated its Emergency Operations Center due to the storm. Firefighters also helped evacuate residents in San Geronimo Valley.
Officials also said the Corte Madera Creek in Ross reached a critical level over 18 feet.
South Bay
A flash flood warning was issued for the Loma Fire burn area in the Santa Cruz Mountains Thursday afternoon. The warning extended until the late evening.
East Bay
The rain came down hard in the East Bay on Thursday. Roadways were covered water during the evening rush hour. Standing water and slick roadways created a dangerous commute for many using interstates 680 and 80. Some cars were even spotted driving through nearly three feet of water.
Ashby Avenue, just off I-80, in Berkeley was shut down for hours due to flooding underneath the railroad tracks. The blockage caused bumper-to-bumper traffic.
"It was locked up," said Jim Hawley, a motorist. "I’ve never seen it looked up like it was."
A CHP officer agreed, saying, "So far, it's the worst I've ever seen."
Peninsula
Waves battered the coastline in Pacifica as the city was poised to demolish an apartment building suffering dangerous costal erosion. Trees came down, including in Daly City.
Rain, wind & waves picking up along #Pacifica pier as winter storm rolls in. @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/Ltrjp8LeK8 — Bob Redell (@BobNBC) December 15, 2016
Elsewhere in California
In Southern California, residents in Los Angeles and Ventura counties were getting hammered with rain, too.
In Northern California, the Lake Tahoe region was also getting slammed: A winter storm was expected to bring one to three feet of snow. Flood watches and warnings have been issued for many streams and rivers along the Nevada-California line.
Bay Area forecast
Rain in the Bay Area is expected to continue Thursday night with lows in the 40s and south winds of up to 20 mph. Friday will be mostly sunny with highs in the 50s and west wind of around 20 mph.
