Atmospheric river system dampens Bay Area, with more rain to follow this week
MILL VALLEY, Calif. - It was a wet weekend in the Bay Area, particularly in the North Bay, with some communities seeing minor flooding, after an atmospheric river system pulled through the region. More rain is in the forecast for this week, beginning Monday evening.
"It’s gotten bad, yeah," said Philip Snead who headed for Goodman Building Supply in Mill Valley, after experiencing some flooding around his home's foundation. "I just need a better system, because you know, more and more rain."
A number of area highways and roads became slick with ponding, while perennial problem spots, like Route 12 in the City of Sonoma, had to be temporarily closed due to flooding.
"We're definitely asking drivers to slow down, take time where they need to get, and also be cautious with the potential winds coming along with that system," said Santa Rosa Fire Marshal, Paul Lowenthal. "Although we had a good break between that last big storm earlier this season and what we're seeing now, it won't take much for the soil saturation to allow those weakened trees to come down a lot easier."
Lowenthal also advised people to take advantage of any lulls in the rain to clear their storm drains of any debris in order to prevent backups.
"I’ve got my weather app, and just keep an eye on it," David Thelander of Mill Valley. "I’ve got what’s called two French drains. Just every once in a while, they plug up, you just hit ‘em, and you know clean them out, and just keep an eye on it."