Tree crushes Tesla, rain causes dangerous driving in Bay Area
PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif. - The latest round of heavy rains in the Bay Area led to flooded roads, downed trees and very dangerous driving conditions on Friday.
One tree came down overnight on a white Tesla in Portola Valley on Skyline Boulevard, where two people were hurt Thursday night.
In the morning, rains flooded a portion of Interstate Highway 580 in Oakland, leading to closure and forcing commuters to seek alternate routes.
Ducks swim on flooded I-580 freeway in Oakland
The rains that pounded the Bay Area caused so much flooding that Interstate Highway 580 by Oakland's Fruitvale and Laurel districts shut the road early Friday morning for about six hours.
BART trains stopped running between Richmond and the El Cerrito del Norte stations because a large tree branch fell onto the tracks after 9 a.m.
Up north in Sonoma County, emergency responders had to help two people out of their cars after drivers drove into a flooded ditch on Trenton and Eastside roads in Forestville. The drivers weren't hurt.
Rain and creek waters also inundated Highway 116 in Sonoma County earlier in the day.
Meteorologists have been warning about this type of problem for days, where the ground is already heavily saturated. Trees can come down even with a minimal wind gust – or sometimes, with no wind at all.
And in the Yosemite Valley, it still looks like the dead of winter, even though it's the second week in March.
Parts of the national park remain covered in snow and ice. It's been closed for the past two weeks already because of the winter weather.
A park spokesperson says they're expected to remain closed until at least St. Patrick's Day, and even then, it might just be a partial opening.