The flooded Bay Area experienced clearer skies Monday after days of rain, but the latest spate of rain has added to the region’s chaos with flooding, mudslides and highway closures.
Sunday night’s heavy rainfall was the latest system to sweep across Northern California, where rainfall has been nearly constant since the start of the year. On Monday, the White House announced that President Biden would travel to coastal areas affected by the storm to meet with “first responders, state and local officials and communities” and assess where additional federal assistance is needed.
The National Weather Service warned that excessive runoff could cause flooding of rivers, streams, creeks and other low-lying areas, and a flood watch remained in effect for parts of Northern California — including the San Francisco Bay shoreline and Point National Seashore Reyes. A flood warning is in effect for the Salinas River in Monterey County.
As cloudy and rainy skies clear across the Bay Area, there’s a chance for rain on Wednesday, followed by a dry spell, with no atmospheric rivers forecast for the rest of the month.
In the Sierra Nevada, heavy snow fell Sunday night and continued into Monday. Travel ranges from “very difficult to impossible,” according to National Weather Service forecasts.
“If you must travel,” carry extra food, water, clothing and a flashlight in case of an emergency, the weather service recommends.
Here are some of the highway closures and signals to watch for in and out of the Bay Area:
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• Interstates 25 and 152: In Santa Clara County, residents woke up to an extended evacuation warning for the southern part of the county. The advisory covers all areas between highways 25 and 152 and south of Bloomfield Avenue in Gilroy to the county line.
• Interstate 82: The interstate reopened Monday afternoon after flooding closed it in both directions at University Avenue in Palo Alto for most of the day.
• Highway 35: Downed power lines caused the closure of Highway 35 south of Kings Mountain Road east of Woodside.
• Highway 1: In Pacifica, Highway 1 was blocked near Old Devil’s Slide Highway due to a landslide, but reopened later in the afternoon. Farther south, near Pescadero, the highway was reduced to one lane due to a ravine. And near Big Sur, landslides closed a section of Highway 1. Caltrans said the road was closed 4.3 miles south of Big Sur in Monterey County south to 2.2 miles north of San Simeon in San Luis Obispo.
• Interstate 13: In the East Bay, a landslide has closed southbound Interstate 13 in Oakland at Moraga Avenue, according to 511.org. Scheduled maintenance is also causing the closure of southbound Interstate 13 between Interstate 80 in Berkeley and Broadway Terrace in Oakland.
• Interstate 84: The highway is closed in both directions between Niles Canyon Road in Fremont and Pleasanton Sunol Road in Sunol due to a mudslide, 511.org reports.
• Interstate 880: A portion of the interstate north of Dixon Landing Road in Milpitas remained closed due to flooding.
• Highway 37: A portion of Highway 37 was closed in Novato from Atherton Avenue to Highway 101 due to flooding.
• Highway 121: The freeway south of Sonoma was blocked in both directions between Highway 116 and Highway 12 due to flooding.
• Highway 101: The highway near Woodside Road in Redwood City has reopened after being closed Monday morning due to a huge sinkhole that reportedly damaged multiple vehicles. Caltrans said northbound traffic was reduced to three lanes at the State Route 84 intersection.
• Interstate 50: A winter storm continues to batter the Sierra, with multiple road closures reported. US 50 was closed from Echo Summit to Meyers in El Dorado County, according to Caltrans. Previous road closures on US 50 at Point View Drive in Placerville and around the Sand Flat Campground in El Dorado County were reopened Monday morning, according to Caltrans.
• Interstate 80: In the Sierra, I-80 is open but chains are needed between the Nevada border and Drum Forebay in Placer County.
Tricia Thadani (she/her) and Tara Duggan are writers for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com, tduggan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani, @taraduggan
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