A rebuild is already underway following historic floods along the Russian River in the North Bay. But residents say one thing is missing: a federal disaster declaration. Sam Brock reports.
What to Know
- This storm is expected to bring up to 1.5 inches of rain to the North Bay, 1 inch to the East Bay and .75 inches to South Bay
- The weather and wind has delayed flights at San Francisco International Airport for an average of 2 hours and 38 minutes
The rain across much of the Bay Area began late Tuesday and was expected to continue into early Wednesday.
While showers won't be anywhere near as powerful as the storm that blasted the North Bay last week, the rain may delay clean up efforts in Guerneville after a historic flooding and it has postponed the repair of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, according to Caltrans.
Wattles are in place around parts of Monte Rio, another town that turned into an island last week when the atmospheric river brought multiple inches of rain, to keep hazardous materials from going into the Russian River.
The river already saw a mixture of gasoline, sewage and other materials that flew from homes and vehicles after the river flooded. Sonoma County officials' goal is to keep the flow of the materials at bay to prevent more issues in the area.
Caltrans officials said Tuesday that their plan to replace of 31 sliding plate joints on the upper deck of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, after chunks of concrete fell onto the lower deck last month, has been delayed due to the ongoing rain.
Local
The current weather system could bring minor flooding, pooling of water on roads and an increased threat of landslides and downed trees.
The storm will bring winds of between 20 mph to 30 mph, at times gusting to 45 mph along the coast and in the hills. Isolated thunderstorms are possible Wednesday morning.
A Wind Advisory issued for elevations above 1000 feet including North Bay Mountains, East Bay Hills, Diablo Range and Santa Cruz, has been cancelled, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather and wind has delayed flights at San Francisco International Airport for an average of 2 hours and 38 minutes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Control System Command Center.
This storm is expected to bring up to 1.5 inches of rain to the North Bay valleys, 1 inch to the East Bay valleys and .75 inches to South Bay valleys, weather service officials said.
Showers could linger throughout the region until Friday morning.
There is an atmospheric river effect associated with Tuesday's precipitation, but that system is weaker and faster-moving than last week's storm and is primarily impacting the Central Coast.
That's welcome news to still-soggy communities in the North Bay, like Guerneville and Monte Rio that experienced heavy flooding and major damage last week.
On Saturday, Sonoma County officials estimated that the recent storms did $155 million in damage.
Further north, heavy snowfall and high winds are predicted for the Sierra Nevada, where a series of blizzards has dumped mountains of snow. Motorists are warned that low visibility could impede travel on mountain passes.
The wettest winter in years has nearly eliminated drought conditions in the state. While frequently disrupting travel, the storms contributed a big part of the state's water supply — the Sierra snowpack that melts and runs off into reservoirs during spring and summer.
The California Department of Water Resources reported last month that the Sierra snowpack was 153 percent of average to date.
