Flood Risks, Rain Linger In The Bay Area Before A Break In The Weather

SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area's latest onslaught of rain is nearing the finish line, and a break in the weather is in sight, but a region-wide flood watch will remain in place until mid-morning Wednesday.

Though rain totals lagged behind projections in some areas, parts of the North Bay were hammered by rain and powerful thunderstorms knocked out power for thousands Monday night.

Pockets of intense weather triggered local weather warnings in several communities, including a severe thunderstorm warning issued Monday afternoon in San Mateo County, impacting more than 300,000 residents around San Mateo, Belmont, Atherton, Redwood City and Woodside.

Heavy rain and rising rivers caused significant flooding for others, including Sonoma County, where firefighters shared footage of two feet of water flowing across a road northwest of Santa Rosa.

By 4:30 p.m. Monday, 72-hour rain totals ranged from less than a half-inch around Hollister, Monterey and Altamont to more than 3 inches in Woodacre and Santa Rosa. At higher elevations, Mount Diablo and Mount Tamalpais recorded more than 2.5 inches of rain.

As stormy weather stretched into Tuesday morning, some areas of the East Bay, including Dublin and Orinda, added roughly a half-inch of precipitation. More periods of heavy rain were in the forecast through Tuesday night.

The National Weather Service predicted up to an inch of new rain around Cloverdale through the end of Tuesday, and roughly 0.7 inches around Santa Rosa, Napa and San Francisco. Projections for San Jose, Concord and Livermore were closer to half an inch. Tuesday's forecast also showed a chance for more thunderstorms developing in the afternoon.

Forecasters said the weather should start to wind down Wednesday, giving way to a calmer stretch, before a less impactful system sets up shop to close out the week.

"Conditions begin to dry out Wednesday, yet [we] cannot rule out an isolated rain shower or two early in the day," NWS Bay Area wrote Tuesday. "Dry conditions will prevail Wednesday night into Thursday before unsettled weather returns to the North Bay. Unsettled conditions return region-wide by Friday and Saturday, yet most rainfall will be 'beneficial' and is not expected to result in any widespread flooding concerns."