Historic, heavy rainfall has caused so-called “sewer geysers” to explode on the streets of San Francisco, sending jets of water shooting up into the air because the city’s drains are overwhelmed and cannot contain the massive amounts of rainwater.
Many San Francisco residents have shared videos of the “sewer geysers” on social media.
Sewernados FULL VIDEO HERE https://t.co/oNQ46qxIMl #AtmosphericRiver #sanfrancisco #flooding #rain #geyser #sewernado #HappyNewYear #NewYearsEve pic.twitter.com/FCgGgWWx0b
— Jamy Donaldson (@goofyfooter) December 31, 2022
Several comments about the issue plaguing San Francisco have referenced the thought of sewage, drug paraphernalia, and homeless tents washing down the streets of the city — which is currently dealing with both a drug crisis and a homelessness crisis, as is the rest of California.
Water spraying out of sewer? and grates at Vicente and 47th Ave near #OceanBeach #SanFrancisco #AtmosphericRiver #SFOceanBeach #sfrain pic.twitter.com/RSpgVvEmuJ
— Jack Knoebber (@jack_move) January 1, 2023
Meanwhile, rainfall in San Francisco neared a record high for precipitation in a single day — and the city is expecting more rainfall throughout the coming week.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “Saturday’s heavy storm was attributed to an atmospheric river that floated over the region for days, bringing a soggy end to 2022. After a brief respite, weather forecasts called for more of the same to start 2023.”
“The deluge brought San Francisco to the edge of an all-time one-day rainfall record as officials passed out sandbags,” the outlet added. “By 6 p.m., the National Weather Service reported that the city was within 9 hundredths of an inch of the all-time record of 5.54 inches set in 1994.”
Officials were forced to close Highway 101 near South San Francisco in both directions due to the heavy rainfall, which led to motorists becoming stranded in their cars while murky water reached as high as their car doors. The highway shutdown lasted until 9 p.m. before officials fully reopened both the northward and southward lanes.
WATCH: #BNNUS Reports
As a winter storm brought heavy snow and flooding to #California, #SanFrancisco experienced one of its wettest days on record, with major flooding affecting most of the #BayArea, which is currently under Flood Watch. pic.twitter.com/CZ3qqdFt7P
— Gurbaksh Singh Chahal (@gchahal) January 1, 2023
This heavy rainfall was not expected, as California is currently in the middle of a three-year drought — and this winter was predicted to be another dry one. Surprisingly, rain came early. Multiple storms combined made the 12 days of Christmas, especially rainy — and even snowy at higher elevations within the state. The ski resort at Mammoth Mountain has reported the deepest snow of any such resort in the United States — with depths reaching over 165’’ at the summit.
