Mudslides Shut California Highways After Storm Dumps Record Rain
Pacific storms knocked out power to thousands across region
Photographer: Noah Berger/AP Photo
Sacramento had its rainiest day in history and downpours made the record books in San Francisco as a powerful Pacific storm ripped across the West, spilling rocks onto highways, toppling trees and leaving thousands without power.
In downtown Sacramento, 5.44 inches (14 centimeters) of rain fell on Sunday, surpassing a high mark set in 1880. Blue Canyon to the east was inundated with almost twice that amount. Just over 4 inches dropped in San Francisco, making it the city’s fourth-rainiest day in records going back to the 1849 gold rush.
“We had been messaging that this would be a historic storm and it looks like it ended up materializing in that aspect, at least with the rain totals,” said Cory Mueller, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento.