The San Francisco Bay Area experienced significantly heavier rainfall than forecasted, with some areas receiving up to a foot of rain. This led to highway flooding, landslides, and at least one house sliding into the Russian River. Meteorologists struggled to predict the storm intensity, attributing some of the flooding to atmospheric rivers, which are moisture-laden weather patterns common in West Coast winters. While a prior dry January helped absorb some rainfall, further storms were expected shortly, raising concerns for additional flooding incidents.
By Tuesday afternoon, a house slid down a saturated hillside and fell into the Russian River in Sonoma County.
The storms, known as atmospheric rivers, are a common feature of West Coast winters.
We got a little more rain than expected, and the rivers responded more than expected as well, said Dylan Flynn.
Another one of these moisture-rich storms is slated to sweep the region Thursday into Friday, bringing more rain and flooding concerns.
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