Evacuations ordered as atmospheric river brings heavy rain to Sacramento area
Update, Sunday, Jan. 1: Highway 99 closed in Sacramento County, flash flood warning extended
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An atmospheric river barreled into Northern California early Saturday, causing widespread flooding and road closures across the Sacramento area. Some residents were ordered to evacuate their homes while others were advised to hunker down for the foreseeable future.
Although some rain arrived Friday, the storm system grew significantly more intense Saturday.
In Sacramento County’s community of Wilton, officials initially advised residents at 1:30 p.m. to evacuate their homes due to rising water levels. But just two hours later, the county issued a shelter-in-place order for the area, saying that the floodwaters had made the roadways impassable and those who had not yet left, should stay home.
In El Dorado County, the Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation order due to extreme flooding for the areas of White Hall, Cameron Park and any homes south of Sandridge Road and Highway 49 to the Amador County border. Authorities reported several rock and mudslides, as well as serious flooding of roadways across the county and homes in Cameron Park.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the southern Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills until 10 p.m.
For those not under an evacuation order, weather forecasters advised residents to avoid traveling and enjoy the last day of 2022 by getting cozy indoors.
“If you’re traveling today, be cautious and watch out for a lot of water on the roadways,” said Courtney Carpenter, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
Heavy to moderate rain is expected to continue throughout the day, tapering off by 6 p.m. in Sacramento, according to Carpenter. Sunday’s dry forecast will provide a respite before another weaker storm system rolls through Monday followed by another powerful storm later in the week.
“Although the rain will taper off this evening, some of those flooding issues will linger until tomorrow because it takes time for the water to soak in and recede,” Carpenter said.
As of Saturday morning, nearly 7 inches of rain had fallen over a 24-hour period near Blue Canyon in the Sierra Nevada and more than 3½ inches fell over the same time in Placerville.
Rancho Cordova and Folsom received 2.5 inches of rain. About 1.5 inches fell on Fair Oaks and the Sacramento International Airport saw less than an inch.
Flooding across Sacramento
Flooding shut down roads and overflowed rivers and creeks across the region.
The Cosumnes River had exceeded its flood stage on Saturday morning at multiple junctions, including the Michigan Bar and Wilton Road. Scott Road was flooded as Deer Creek approached record water levels. And officials also were monitoring Arcade Creek as it neared its crest.
Sacramento County is handing out sandbags at five locations: the county Branch Center, Orangevale Community Center, Point Pleasant United Methodist Church in Elk Grove, Westside Park in Rio Linda and the Wilton Fire Department.
Highway 49 in Plymouth was closed on Saturday from Shenandoah Road into El Dorado County because of flooding.
In the mountains, floods prompted closures to portions of Highway 50, Highway 49 and Highway 89. Officials also closed off State Route 88, also known as Carson Path Highway, out of concerns for avalanches.
In the Sacramento area, hazardous conditions led to at least three water-related rescue missions.
At about 2 p.m. Friday, Roseville police and fire crews rescued a person from an island in the middle of Antelope Creek.
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews were dispatched overnight for a washed-out vehicle on Scott Road at Deer Creek. They rescued several teenagers from the creek who were uninjured, according to the agency.
On Saturday morning, the Cosumnes CSD Fire Department retrieved two people stuck on a temporary island in the middle of Laguna Creek in east Elk Grove.
Snow in the Sierra Nevada
Anyone who was planning to take advantage of the fresh powder falling on the Sierra Nevada for the New Year holiday may need to reconsider.
As of late Saturday morning, both Sierra-at-Tahoe and Heavenly Ski Resort had closed for the day. Heavenly reported multiple downed power lines on the mountain due to the powerful winds and heavy snow.
“We are working with the utility companies to fix power issues as well,” a tweet from the resort’s account read. “NV and Gondola may be closed tomorrow as well.”
The northern Sierra Nevada is expected to receive up to 2 feet of snow by early Sunday, according to Carpenter. The Sierra snowpack, which provides 30% of the state’s water supply, is 162% higher than average this time of year.
Carpenter said the consecutive storm systems will help California address its long-term water deficit but more wet weather will be needed over the course of the coming months.
“This certainly puts a dent in it and improves things in the short term, but we have a lot of ground to make up,” she said.. “So it’s more of a wait-and-watch situation to see what happens the rest of the winter.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 11:28 AM with the headline "Evacuations ordered as atmospheric river brings heavy rain to Sacramento area."