In Marin County, flooding left motorists stranded and kayakers paddling Saturday in areas where bicyclists usually pedaled. In San Francisco, a storm surge drenched onlookers at the Embarcadero and Crissy Field.
Elsewhere, the storm forced further road closures in Alameda County and as far away as Pacifica and Half Moon Bay.
Jon Borges surveyed the flooded intersection by the Grand Gasoline gas station just off 101 at De Silva Island Drive in Mill Valley, and his friend’s abandoned Toyota pickup.
“I wasn’t expecting that at all,” he said, of the impacts of the weekend’s king tides, which flooded many low-lying areas in Mill Valley, as well as the San Francisco Embarcadero and other locations around the Bay Area.
Oliver Ocampo, 5, of Sunnyvale plays in the water during a king tide near the Ferry Building at the Embarcadero in San Francisco on Saturday. “I wish I had my rainbow,” said his mother, Sharon Hung. “It would be fun to play with him.” (Yalonda M. James/SF Chronicle)
The trifecta of a super moon, the strong winds of an incoming storm system and heavy rains resulted in a high tide Saturday morning 2.5 feet above normal – the highest king tide since Feb. 6, 1998, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Gass. Flooding was reported across the Bay Area in Marin County, Sonoma County, Alameda County, San Mateo County and San Francisco.
The tide peaked just after 10:30 am on Saturday, although it took hours for the floodwaters to recede. San Francisco’s record high tide was 2.8 feet on January 27, 1998.
The high tide has prompted a coastal flood advisory in effect until 2 pm Sunday for much of the Bay Area and Central Coast. The king’s strong tides and strong winds sent seawater into streets, parks and other low-lying areas. Flooding 2 feet deep closed parts of Interstate 80 just west of the metering lights on the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge and forced the closure of other roads in Corte Madera, along with many roads in Sonoma County.
The storm sent high waves over the coastal piers at Pacifica and Half Moon Bay, and over the walkways at Pier 14 at the San Francisco Embarcadero, drenching onlookers.
Flash floods also disrupted traffic in Southern California. Highway 101 southbound in Gaviota (Santa Barbara County) was closed Saturday morning due to a mudslide and flooding that covered all lanes.
Noah Dorfman walks Molly walks through a flooded path during a king tide in Mill Valley on Saturday. (Stephen Lam/SF Chronicle)
Mill Valley was especially hard hit, with flooding that stranded motorists and forced the closure of intersections.
28-year-old Borges had received a call at around 10:30 in the morning, as the king’s tide was rising.
His friend tried to drive his Toyota pickup through the flooded intersection and was trapped until local firefighters helped free him.
Borges lives on a houseboat in Sausalito and is used to high tides, he said, but neither he nor his friend realized how bad the flooding would be at the intersection with the gas station.
“We’re waiting for the water to go down enough for them to bring a tow truck,” he said.
At Camino Alto and Miller Avenue, Mill Valley Department of Public Works employees blocked off a flooded intersection.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it so disgusting,” said Mark Bartel, who started working for the department six months earlier.
People protect themselves from the rain at Pier 14 in San Francisco on Saturday. (Yalonda M. James/SF Chronicle)
The department had to close other roads for minor flooding two months earlier, but “it was nothing like this,” he said as he waved at drivers in the Safeway parking lot next door.
A few yards down the street, Jen Bennett, 53, and Marianne Kabir, 56, were walking to pick up their children from basketball practice.
“You can’t even make it to high school,” Bennett said.
Earlier in the day, she had tried to go for a run, only to find her usual underwater tracks.
Kabir looked on the bright side. The whole flood had come out like a bird’s nest.
“It’s really very nice,” she said.
Eli Ferrell, left, and brothers Connor and Brett Cardinal prepare to launch a canoe through swollen Coyote Creek during a king tide in Mill Valley on Saturday. (Stephen Lam/SF Chronicle)
At Equator Coffee, further from Almonte Boulevard, baristas fielded calls from customers asking if they could get to the shop. Julia Pfahl, 36, was having her morning coffee and chatting with the barista. She had to leave home much earlier than usual to go to work at the Prova Lab Surf Shop. When she arrived at work, she found the shop under 4 inches of water.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it,” she said, laughing. “Everybody’s in a panic, nobody knows how to drive in it – I saw a car by the Holiday Inn (on nearby Shoreline Highway) with water up to its windows. Did you really think you could drive through it?”
Meteorologists said another period of minor coastal flooding was expected late Sunday morning, although it would not be as severe as Saturday’s water levels.
Tide levels will be about half a foot lower than Saturday’s flood, meteorologists said. By Monday, coastal flood advisories are expected to be lifted.
This article originally published in ‘Worst I’ve ever seen’: Bay Area flooding closes roads, stranding drivers.