Deluge causes flooding, power failures, crashes (w/video)

The wettest winter storm in 5½ years slammed the greater Bay Area on Wednesday, pelting the region with much-needed rain and raising water levels fast enough to flood several low-lying areas and roads temporarily, including southbound Highway 101.

There were power failures, vehicle crashes, toppled trees and small landslides - the kinds of problems that were standard winter fare before a historic three-year drought made such experiences rare.

But there is no denying it was a lot of rain that fell throughout the day Wednesday, part of a “moist flow pattern” that since Friday has dumped more than 3½ inches of rain in Santa Rosa, and more than 7 inches in the hills of west Sonoma County, and which promises more to come this week and next - though perhaps not quite as much in so short a time, the National Weather Service said.

Guerneville had perhaps the soggiest conditions Wednesday, with a 24-hour rainfall total of 4.22 inches.

Santa Rosa got about 1½ inches of rain during the same time frame, 4 p.m. Tuesday to 4 p.m. Wednesday. The 30-year average daily rainfall for Dec. 3 in Santa Rosa is just under one-fifth of an inch, National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson said.

Determining rainfall levels for Santa Rosa has been a challenge lately because of a problem with the gauge used at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, which apparently has been under-reporting rainfall for some period of time, the National Weather Service said. The gauge is to be replaced by maintenance personnel out of Eureka this week, though rainfall totals for the past week have been adjusted and believed to be accurate, representatives said.

Forecasters said the Bay Area hasn’t seen so much precipitation over a 24-hour period since Feb. 15 and 16 of 2009, though there may have been instances of locally higher rainfall in areas of the North Coast since then, meteorologist Will Pi said.

“We’re in a wet weather pattern,” Anderson said. “Storm door’s open.”

That’s good news, long-term, but troublesome in the short term for people like those who were caught on Highway 101 early Wednesday, when standing water in Marin County brought southbound traffic to a near standstill, as motorists accustomed to filling four lanes were funneled through two, backing traffic up to Novato along an 18-mile stretch, the CHP said.

Santa Rosa resident John Moorhead was in it. “We were stuck in that traffic for two hours trying to go to San Rafael,” he said.

Low-lying areas in and around Petaluma bore the brunt of the foul weather in Sonoma County, beginning late Tuesday night, when a deluge overwhelmed the drainage system and flooded southbound Highway 101 in the south part of town for nearly five hours. Authorities directed southbound drivers around the highway flood zone beginning around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, diverting them onto nearby Lakeville Highway and then to Highway 37 in Novato. Southbound Highway 101 was reopened at about 4 a.m.

But later Wednesday morning, culverts and drainage ditches clogged with leaves, mud and debris contributed to localized flooding across several Petaluma intersections and into enough roadways the city opened a bag-your-own sandbag station at the end of Hopper Street in the center of town, though much of the flooding had subsided by 10 a.m.

Areas impacted included Lakeville Street, which was closed by standing water from East D Street to Caulfield Lane, and Casa Grande High School in southeast Petaluma, where water flooded the campus band and choir room.

High school band director Arlene Burney arrived at school Wednesday and opened the door to find a foot of standing water.

“It was completely coming in the back door,” she said later, her shoes wet and nerves still frazzled. “The ditch back there was blocked and there was nowhere for the water to go but inside the building.”

Her freshman band class quickly moved several instruments from the classroom, which also housed the band uniforms and other equipment.

Burney said she hasn’t tried to turn on her computer, which had been on the floor. “Of course, everything in the world is in that,” she said.

Water had soaked into the walls about a foot high and service crews were there mid-morning vacuuming water up from the carpets.

It remained to be seen whether built-in particle-board cabinets would survive.

“We’re probably going to have to pull out parts of the walls,” Burney said.

Flooding also temporarily closed down perennial trouble spots in the Sonoma Valley, including Highway 12 at Highway 121, Highway 116 at Arnold Drive, Highway 121 at A Street and Highway 12 at Watmaugh Road.

The worst of dozens of crashes around the region appeared to be a chain-reaction crash near the Marin-Sonoma county line at about 10 a.m., prompted by a vehicle that spun out of control on the wet pavement and struck a guard rail, the CHP said.

Another southbound driver slowed to avoid becoming involved, was rear-ended by third car, which was then struck by a fourth. A Vacaville woman, Megan Landis, 18, had to be cut from the wreckage of her Honda Del Sol with major injuries, though they did not appear to be life-threatening, authorities said.

Later, on River Road east of Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville, a Pepsi truck skidded off the slick road into an embankment, blocking traffic there for more than an hour.

Power failures cut the lights in more than 3,000 homes and businesses at various points Wednesday, though the majority had power restored before dark, PG&E said.

By evening, about 600 customers affected by 15 separate power failures were still waiting for electricity. The largest remaining area without power involved 435 customers in the F Section of Rohnert Park and 67 in Forestville, PG&E spokeswoman Jana Morris said. All of those without power at 6 p.m. were expected to have the problem resolved by early today, she said.

Anderson said the North Bay is in for a brief respite from wet weather, with only occasional light showers Thursday, before the next storm arrives Friday or Friday night, bringing another half inch of rain or so to Santa Rosa.

Besides some potential for showers on Sunday, the weekend and early next week look dry, until about Thursday, when more rain is forecast, he said.