Bay Area roads swamped by rain and King Tides
Waters were slowly receding near the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday after roadways from Sausalito to San Rafael flooded during heavy rain that coincided with what forecasters described as record-breaking King Tides — which occur when the moon reaches its closest position to Earth, amplifying its gravitational pull on the ocean.
“I’ve been around here for the King Tides and I’ve never seen it this high. Never,” Jeremy Hager of San Rafael told KTVU-TV.
Some residents kayaked along swamped streets while others waded through water above their knees. Authorities were called to assist when cars became stuck in water as high as three and four feet, Marin County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Dobbins said Saturday. Flooding was reported across Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties.
Lingering thunderstorms on Sunday could cause additional problems throughout low-lying areas, forecasters said. “For anyone driving, slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination,” the Bay Area office of the National Weather Service warned on social media.
Mudslides block Santa Barbara highway; one dead
In Santa Barbara County, a key highway was reopened Sunday after a series of mudslides blocked it near Goleta for most of the weekend. Parts of the county received more than four inches of rain over two days, the National Weather Service said. A man died after he was swept into a creek during the storms, the sheriff’s office said Saturday.