SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A powerful storm barreled toward Northern California after flooding highways, toppling trees and causing mudflows in areas burned bare by recent fires across the northern part of the state.
Drenching showers and strong winds accompanied the arrival of an atmospheric river — a long and wide plume of moisture pulled in from the Pacific Ocean.
Flooding was reported across the San Francisco Bay Area. To the north, the California Highway Patrol closed State Route 70 in Butte County because of mudslides within the massive Dixie Fire burn scar.
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District responded to nearly 400 calls during the storm. The majority of the calls were not medical-related and included flooding, fallen trees, downed power lines, vehicle accidents and structure fires, according to a Facebook post.
More than 2 feet of snow snarled traffic in the Sierra where a winter storm warning remains in effect until 11 p.m. Record rainfall in Reno caused one school to close as well as minor flooding that shut down some streets.
MONDAY COMMUTE LATEST: Storm Commute: Traffic alerts, updates and information
TODAY'S WEATHER: Sacramento Weather Forecast
Weather Records
Record keeping has a long history in Sacramento going back to the Gold Rush of 1849, Sunday's rain set a new record for the downtown location with 5.44" of rain in 24 hours.
The Sacramento Executive Airport location has records going back to the 1950s and set a new 24 hour record of 5.41".
Blue Canyon is off I-80 at 5,000 ft and often reports heavy snow totals during the rainy season but this storm had snow levels near 11,000 ft. Blue Canyon reported more than 10" of rain in 24 hours and broke a record set in the 60s.
The National Weather Service extended a Flood Advisory until noon on Monday. ABC10 Chief Meteorologist Monica Woods said the storm brought the 2nd wettest day ever at Sacramento Executive with 5.32 inches of rain as of 11 p.m. Sunday. The wettest 24-hours ever was 5.59 inches, which was recorded back in 1962.
School Closures
Jesuit High School's campus near Sacramento is closed because of flooding and power outages, which affected faulty and staff email, heating, internet and the public address system. Students should prepare to resume classes Tuesday, according to a Facebook post from the school.
Tahoe Truckee Unified School District called a snow day for Monday. Some of its buildings are without power.
Lake Tahoe Unified School District canceled school today due to weather and power outages. The district says it hopes to resume school tomorrow.
Vinewood Elementary School in Lodi is closed due to significant flooding on surrounding streets and parts of the campus.
School is being delayed by two hours for Henderson Community Day School, Independence and Valley Robotics Academy due to flooding.
All other Lodi Unified schools are open.
Problems in Wildfire Areas
On Sunday, the Placer County Sheriff's Office issued evacuation orders for some areas of Colfax due to potential debris flow near the River Fire burn scar area. The orders include Hillcrest Blvd, south from 1565 Hillcrest Blvd to Spring Valley Rd, Spring Valley Rd. from Milk Ranch Road, and Ben Taylor to the Bear River.
A rockslide along Highway 50 at Echo Summit had to be blasted in order to clear the roadway overnight.
Power Outages
The map below shows other PG&E power outages. SMUD outages can be found HERE.
SMUD'S outage map is HERE.
County Severe Weather Shelters
The Sacramento Fire Department says it rescued 14 people near Pell Drive after pumps failed Sunday night. Water was up to waist high for many people. On Du Bois Avenue, the fire department responded to two flooded homes and helped residents get to dry ground.
Sacramento City Hall opened its doors and its lobby as the homeless population sought shelter from a major storm. The lobby opened on Saturday night and stayed opening into Monday morning.
However, the move still garnered criticism from Sacramento Homeless Union who referred to the tweet as a "photo op."
Video taken by Twitter user Mark J. Reichel showed a row of tents getting splashed by drivers passing through the area on the freeway above them.
Storm Resources
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