In Southern California, moderate-to-heavy rain was falling Saturday. On the Sierra's eastern front, flood watches and warnings were issued into the weekend north and south of Reno, Nevada, where minor to moderate flooding was forecast along some rivers and streams. 'Strong winds could cause tree damage and lead to power outages and high waves on Lake Tahoe may capsize small vessels,' the weather service in Reno said.Īvalanche warnings were issued in the backcountry around Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes south of Yosemite. The Sacramento region could receive a total of 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 centimeters) of rain over the span of the week, Chandler-Cooley said. The current system is expected to be warmer and wetter, while next week's storms will be colder, said Hannah Chandler-Cooley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sacramento. It was the first of several storms expected to roll across California over the next week. A bridge that was temporarily closed last week due to earthquake damage may be closed again if the Eel River, which it crosses, gets too high, officials said. 20, also saw roadways begin to flood, according to the National Weather Service's Eureka office. Humboldt County, where a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck on Dec. In El Dorado County, east of Sacramento, a stretch of Highway 50 was closed because of flooding. The state transportation agency reported numerous road closures, including Highway 70 east of Chico, which was partially closed by a slide, and the northbound side of Highway 49, east of Sacramento, which was closed because of flooding. Some rainfall totals in the San Francisco Bay Area topped 4 inches (10 centimeters). Officials warned that rivers and streams could overflow and urged residents to get sandbags ready. The Sacramento agency released a map of 24-hour precipitation through Saturday morning, showing a wide range of totals in the region, from less than an inch (2.54 centimeters) in some areas to more than 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) in the Sierra foothills.Ī flood watch was in effect across much of Northern California through New Year's Eve. 'We're seeing a lot of flooding,' Carpenter said.

One ski resort south of Lake Tahoe closed chair lifts because of flooding and operational problems, and posted a photo on Twitter showing one lift tower and its empty chairs surrounded by water. Weather service meteorologist Courtney Carpenter said the storm could drop over an inch of rain in the Sacramento area before moving south.

Videos on Twitter showed mud-colored water streaming along San Francisco streets, and a staircase in Oakland turned into a veritable waterfall by heavy rains. 101 - one of the state's main traffic arteries - was closed indefinitely south of San Francisco because of flooding. The California Highway Patrol said a section of U.S. With rain continuing to fall, it could threaten the nearly three-decade old record. Rainfall in downtown San Francisco on Saturday topped 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) at midafternoon, making it the second-wettest day on record, behind a November 1994 deluge.

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