Flooding prompts closure of major Bay Area highway and evacuation warnings in northern California neighborhoods - CNN

CNN  — 

US Highway 101, 1 of California’s astir celebrated routes, is closed “indefinitely” arsenic dense precipitation and snowfall melt flooded roads, particularly successful the bluish fractional of the state, officials said.

Authorities from the California Highway Patrol had said earlier Saturday that the roadway closed successful some directions successful South San Francisco. In an evening update, CHP added determination was nary estimated clip of reopening arsenic “water is not receding owed to non-stop rainfall & precocious tides preventing the h2o to displace.”

Authorities were besides moving to rescue submerged vehicles from the road aft immoderate had chosen to thrust done the closures, the agency said.

The California Department of Transportation besides advised of a partial closure of Interstate 80 adjacent the Nevada enactment midday Saturday “due to aggregate spinouts implicit Donner Summit.” Driving done the upland walk successful the Sierra Nevada scope has required tyre chains for overmuch of this period owed to dense snowfall.

A beardown tempest that brought wide dense rain Friday done Saturday, creating a flood menace for overmuch of Northern and Central California, is nearing unprecedented levels.

By Saturday evening, San Francisco was closing successful connected breaking the city’s grounds for azygous wettest time ever.

“Downtown San Francisco is present astatine 5.45 inches, conscionable 9 hundredths of an inch distant from the regular (midnight to midnight) grounds of 5.54 inches,” the National Weather Service said successful a 5 p.m. update connected Twitter.

And meanwhile, an progressive pitchy watercourse signifier besides brought a parade of storms fueled by an atmospheric stream of Pacific moisture.

An atmospheric river is simply a long, constrictive portion successful the ambiance which tin transport moisture thousands of miles, similar a occurrence hose successful the sky. This dense rainfall volition descent southward to Southern California connected Saturday and Sunday, accompanied by gusty winds of 30 to 50 mph.

Several tiny communities successful bluish California were enactment nether evacuation orders and warnings Saturday owed to flooding. Three communities adjacent the metropolis of Watsonville were told to evacuate by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office due to creek flooding, portion officials ordered the communities of Paradise Park and Felton to evacuate owed to rising levels of the San Lorenzo River.

Neighborhoods adjacent the Santa Rita Creek successful Monterey County were enactment nether a informing Saturday day due to the fact that of concerns the creek “will spill implicit its banks,” according to the sheriff’s office.

And residents successful the assemblage of Wilton, astir 20 miles from Sacramento, were ordered to structure successful spot owed to the rains and floods.

“Rising h2o has made roads impassable successful the area,” Sacramento County officials said connected Facebook, urging those who were already connected the roadworthy to caput to information and those who were location to “stay astatine home.”

The region connected Saturday issued a proclamation of section authorities of exigency for the wintertime storms, saying the atmospheric stream it’s been experiencing has caused “significant proscription impacts, rising creek and stream levels and flooding” successful the Wilton area.

A flood watch for much than 16 cardinal is successful effect including the full Bay Area and Central Valley though Saturday night. Rain could easiness Saturday evening earlier the calendar turns to 2023.

Earlier upwind predictions said wide rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are expected successful bluish and cardinal California, but locally higher amounts of 5 to 7 inches are besides imaginable for the foothills.

Northern California and the cardinal California seashore person already received 2 to 4 inches of rainfall successful the past week. The cumulative effect of aggregate Pacific tempest systems laden with moisture from a potent atmospheric stream volition marque impacts specified arsenic flash floods and landslides much likely.

Videos and photos shared by the National Weather Service successful San Francisco amusement fallen trees blocking roadways, and aggregate landslides.