This winter, the Bay Area has received record-breaking rainfall, causing flooding, power outages and disruptions for thousands of residents. Heavy rain and strong winds have combined to create hazardous conditions across the region, affecting infrastructure, daily civilian life and many industries that Californians depend on.
The Bay Area experienced an unpredictable pattern of winter weather marked by storms and king tides, which are abnormally high tides. These king tides coincided with the heavy rainfall and storm surges, causing water levels to rise over 2.5 feet in some areas. Consequently, flooding occurred primarily in low-lying neighborhoods, leading to road closures and emergency responses throughout multiple counties.
Additionally, San Francisco saw particularly high rainfall totals. Downtown San Francisco received 2.53 inches of rain in a single day, breaking a 138-year-old record of 2.22 inches. Other parts of the Bay Area also reported significant rainfall — Santa Rosa reached 2.15 inches in one weekend, coastal ranges received over 4 inches and airports across the region reported elevated totals — such as 1.17 inches at Oakland Airport and 1.37 inches at San Jose Airport.
The National Weather Service wrote that San Francisco reached 118% of its average rainfall, San Francisco International Airport reached 150%, Oakland reached 130% and SJC reached 160%. According to the United States Drought Monitor, as of December 2025 and early January 2026, California is free of drought for the first time in 25 years. Due to this, there has been an increase in water supply by boosting California’s snowpack. ABC News marked this as an “exceptionally wet period,” with measurements showing no signs of dryness. While the increased rainfall has benefitted the Bay Area’s water supply, its immediate impacts highlight the region’s lack of preparation for extreme weather changes.
These conditions have had a significant impact, with fallen trees damaging property and leading to minor injuries. Flooding was the most severe in the North Bay, with road closures across Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, San Mateo and San Francisco counties. Specifically, Marin County experienced over $4.3 million in damage as a result of flooding.
Furthermore, the storms caused widespread power outages across the Bay Area. Pacific Gas and Electric reported that almost 65,000 customers did not have access to power on Christmas morning. Tens of thousands of residents were still affected by nighttime, mainly in Sonoma County. PG&E announced that it restored electricity to over 383,000 customers through the storm, though outages continued due to strong winds and flooding.
