Rain causes South Bay gridlock, but residents they're thankful to see the drops

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - Around San Jose, people are breathing easier, now that rainy skies have replaced the smoke-filled ones we've been having.

Rafael Garcia, who works construction, says, "I lose work but I mean I can't complain about the air being cleared."

But what cleared the air, caused gridlock on the roads. The timing of this rain, on one of the busiest travel days of the year, was not ideal.

David Cortez says, "But there's so much traffic you can't go fast. So you're definitely keeping the speed limit."

Highway 17 was slick. The Santa Clara County Fire department responded to crash after crash. They're advising holiday travelers to plan ahead and use caution.

David Cortez says he does, "Yeah, all-wheel drive car. Not a problem."

And at Mineta San Jose International Airport, no real problems. The airport is expecting half a million travelers in the 11-days around Thanksgiving, up 8-percent from the same time last year. 

Rosemary Barnes, an airport spokesperson says, "Certainly we're considering the rain in our operation. But quite frankly we were all thankful to see those raindrops falling earlier this morning."

Travelers are thankful too. Flights have been, for the most part, on time.

Jen Dangerfield says, "So far. Haven't gotten any notifications otherwise."

In fact, the biggest headache was the traffic in and around the airport. Rain brought that to a standstill.

John Comiskey says, "We expected something. But this is a lot."