Record rain in California: 2 dead; home swept away by river
SAN FRANCISCO – A series of "atmospheric river" storms aimed at Northern California have already caused flooding, downed trees, landslides and at least one house on a scenic river to slide into the water on Tuesday, with another storm coming on Thursday and yet another one next week. At least two people have died.
San Francisco broke a daily record for rain that had been in place since 1887 on Tuesday, with a pounding 2.53 inches of rain falling, according to the National Weather Service. The rain was so heavy at times that it fell in almost white vertical sheets, quickly overwhelming storm drains in some areas.
Mount Tamalpais in Marin County just north of the city recorded a full 17 inches of rain between Friday and Thursday morning, said Crystal Oudit, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's San Francisco Bay office.
The storm was especially violent north of San Francisco, in Sonoma county, where the scenic and popular Russian River reached flood stage leading to multiple evacuations.
There were two storm-related deaths in Sonoma county on Tuesday, including one man pulled from a culvert, according to the Sonoma Sheriff's office.
The rainfall was so intense that in one dramatic example, a mudslide caused an entire house to slip down a bank into the Russian River on Tuesday around lunchtime, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff. Pieces of the unoccupied home were later seen floating in the river.
Three homes nearby were evacuated and two of them were "red tagged" as being unsafe to occupy.
Later that evening, a landslide hit another home in the area, destroying it and trapping two residents inside. They were later pulled to safety.
Road crews spent the day removing downed trees, power lines and in one case a large boulder off streets in the area.
The area got a day of reprieve on Wednesday, with sun and clear skies, but a second storm began to hit Thursday morning.
The National Weather Service predicted rainfall totals as high as three inches in some parts of the San Francisco Bay area and Central Coast in the vicinity of Big Sur. Flooding was also possible in Marin and Sonoma counties.
Another storm is already building up in the Pacific and heading toward shore, Oudit said.