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Season’s first major storm causes traffic nightmare
SAN FRANCISCO — Despite light Veterans’ Day traffic, the season’s first major storm caused transportation nightmares Monday across the San Francisco Bay area.
Water pooled on Highway 101 south of San Francisco, and several accidents caused severe backups on that major artery during the morning commute. Flooding on a platform forced trains to bypass a downtown San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit station.
Incoming and outgoing flights at San Francisco International Airport experienced delays of up to a half-hour Monday morning due to the rain, airport spokesman Ron Wilson said.
By 4 p.m., 2.09 inches of rain had fallen in San Francisco on Monday alone, according to Bob Benjamin of the National Weather Service.
“That’s a lot of rain,” he said.
In some Northern California areas, at times rain fell at a rate of 2 inches per hour.
A winter storm warning was in effect through midnight above 7,000 feet in the Lake Tahoe area.
The California Highway Patrol recorded dozens of incidents across the Bay Area, including collisions, flooding and mudslides.
The storm was expected to taper off by the evening and clear fully by midday Tuesday, Benjamin said. Another storm is expected by week’s end.
