announcer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. >> thousands of people in santa barbara county forced from their homes because of the threat of mudslides. >> flooding in felton. the devastating images from the saturation in santa cruz county. >> in the bay area another round of rain. this is a level two on our storm impact scale. drew will track the timeline. good morning. we are coming on early to help you navigate the weather. >> we have live team coverage starting with metre we had thatd 2:00 this morning.

when 50 to 70 miles an hour and a quick punch of rain. live doppler 7 a couple of scattered downpours through the city and through the north bay but the heaviest of the rain is pushed off to the east right now. i want to show you as live doppler 7 will update my near modesto we have a tornado warning effect until 4:15 this morning. my computer froze for a second. this is a level two on the exclusive storm impact scale. here is the tornado warning. if you know folks modesto, this is where the tornado warning is thanks to this line of strong storms this morning. back here at home no tornado warnings but very strong winds gusting near 50 miles an hour in some spots. on the storm impact scale we have more threads for thunderstorms popping up, gusty winds. more trees will likely come down and more scattered downpours. we will time out the storm

coming up in a few minutes. >> we will check in on traffic because we have weather related issues starting on northbound 17 before santa cruz avenue and southbound 17 at glenwood drive because of a landslide in that area. we have roadway flooding in napa. this is on northbound 121-29. the santa cruz mountains, we have several pockets of issues for road closures due to rock slides and landslides due to aftermath of flooding on eastbound nine and 236. on the east bay, flooding and land cleanup. kumasi: thank you. heavy rain and flooding is causing rivers and creeks to swell and flood. the san lorenzo river is one of the spots causing major issues in the santa cruz mountains. lena howland is on the way to that area but you are walking -- running into a lot of issues on your way there on the roads.

reporter: good morning. we are already running into quite a few problems along highway 17. if you take a live look now you can see the highway is shut down right now in both directions. this is where we have been stopped by chp officers telling us they have shut down the highway because of so much debris all over the highway including lots of tree branches, downed trees and power lines. the only cars we have seen on highway 17 have been pg&e trucks. this comes as folks across the community of felton are waking up living there worst nightmare as most of their town is underwater from yesterday's flooding. this could all change very quickly with more rain expected throughout the day. take a look at this video capturing homes completely surrounded by floodwaters from the san lorenzo river. the river hit its crest of 24.52

feet around 7:45 yesterday morning, the second highest mark in modern history dating back to 1937. elsewhere in felton some of the iconic town sites like the landmark covered bridge complete flooded. water began to recede after that but residents who did not evacuate had no other place to go. >> we had the trifecta with the mudslides and the trees down and flooding so we are trapped up here in the canyon. lena: folks like cindy who you just heard from, she says there are also two evacuation centers open for this community. take a look at your screen. one is at the santa cruz county fairground and another is set up at cabrillo college. both areas are pet friendly and they also have rv parking.

back here along highway 17 we are one of the side streets right next to it, authorities are warning everyone to get out now as a precaution since we saw a brief break in the rain, some positive news to report from yesterday. however, these highway closures will make it incredibly difficult for folks to get either in or out of this community at this hour. we are hearing from chp officers. they may reopen highway 17 in a matter of 10 or 20 minutes once they have a full inspection of the highway done and have a little bit more of that debris cleared. for now, we will keep heading up that way as far as we can get but reporting live in santa cruz county, lena howland, abc 7 news. kumasi: there are trees blocking roads in sonoma county. gloria rodriguez is joining us with what you are seeing this morning. gloria: good morning.

we are heading to kernville but we came across this issue at river road in sonoma county. a giant tree is blocking this roadway. officials tell us they came down around 3:00 this morning so this is the type of stuff we are still dealing with because of the rain, the wind and fire crews are here. we saw more crews arriving to clear that tree from the roadway so that people can get through and get to gernville. they did cancel the flood warning for the russian river so the river will crest below 32 feet. i have some footage to show you. the parking lot at steelheadjo'e yard flooded and his only way out was by boat. two cars submerged in floodwaters at the river road outside of santa rosa. fire crews helping rescue the driver trapped in a mercedes. >> what we woke up to was more

of a mess. we have trees down, mudslides, folks trapped in areas with major road failures. gloria: sonoma county district five supervisor lynda hopkins says eyes continue to be on the russian river. low-lying areas around the river already feeling the impact. back here live at river road in sonoma county, we have this giant tree blocking the road. we will see when they clear this up so we can get down to gernville. gloria rodriguez, abc7 news. julian: in the santa c mountains, southbound lanes have reopened after a mudslide at glenwood drive. pg&e posted video captured by a worker of a huge pine tree along highway nine north of santa cruz. the utility says high winds, flooding and soil stabilit nsafe ford to extended power outages.

find information like closures, evacuation warnings and other information on our website. life updates on our front page, abc7news.com or your abc 7 news app. kumasi: a disaster this morning in santa barbara county. look at this water. an evacuation order is in effect for thousands of people covering the entire community of montecito. powerful rains are threatening to unleash mudslides. up to one foot of rain is threatening to soak already drenched hillsides that are scarred from wildfires. floodwaters swept away a five-year-old boy. the rising silliness river became too dangerous for rescue divers. montecito is an enclave for celebrities. those evacuated include over winfrey, prince harry and meghan markle and ellen degeneres. >> we are having unprecedented rain.

kumasi: this five years after mudslides in montecito killed 23 people. the strength of rushing feet carrying boulders the size of homes and damaged or destroyed 500 structures. reggie: classified documents from president biden's time as vice president have been discovered in a private office. they were found in the fall but the biden administration is just now acknowledging them. the white house is arguing this a different situation than the documents found at president trump home in florida. jobina: the documents were found in a locked closet on november 2 as the president's personal attorneys were packing an office he no longer you uses -- he no longer uses. the documents were turned over the next day. abc news confirmed the justice department has launched an investigation into what happened. while this seems similar into the investigation into classified documents at

president trump's former home in florida, the white house says the documents were not the subject of a national archives request which makes this different. >> this appears to be a wildly different situation than what former president trump is facing with the criminal investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the presidency. jobina: president biden was asked about the discovery last night in mexico city but he did not comment. sources say attorney general merrick garland is assigning u.s. attorney john laotian to head the review. the trump appointee will investigate the chain of possession of the classified documents. drew: take a look outside. this is sutro tower. we are bouncing around this morning. a lot of you get woken up around 2:00 a.m. for strong winds. sfo had wind gusts near 70 miles an hour. san jose, 57.

oakland, 50. even concord nearing 50. richmond had a wind gust of 61 miles an hour. more trees are coming down and more power outages. i have seen video on social media of what looks like transformers. gusting to 40 miles an hour in oakland. it is a windy morning out there and we are not done with the winds or the rain this morning. a wind advisory in effect until 4:00 p.m. for the threat of more gusty winds as the day goes on. here is live doppler 7. there is that strong line of storms that move through producing a lot of lighting in the central valley. for us we are seeing downpours across the city and parts of marin county but more storms are likely on the way. a level two with moderate storms and the threat of more downpours and gusty winds. by 6:30, pockets of downpours developing. one in the south bay creating a rumble of thunder.

the threat continues throughout the morning. very scattered and where we have a downpour for a long period of time there will be some flooding. there is a flood watch in effect for the entire region. behind the storm we have another one coming tomorrow. a wet period ahead. will look at that in eight minutes. jobina: good morni we will go back to the santa cruz mountains and highway 17. this is pretty close to where we saw the live report. southbound 17 is open at state route nine but closed at bear creek. we g they arho open a second portion shortly. it looks like this is due to the aftermath of the line slides -- the landslides. roadway flooding in napa. going back down south, road closures on eastbound nine 236. also it is not safe to be driving through these areas in the santa cruz mountains.

a look at the flooding and landslide cleanup in fremont. a slick ride with a live picture of the golden gate bridge. reggie: a new san francisco border supervisors president. who came out on top after voting. kumasi: plus, damage in wine country. >> it has been a sad day. part of our family.e has kumasi: strong winds from our storms toppling a tree in napa valley. residents still dealing with the effects of flooding. reggie: extreme heat. what climate experts are saying

2023 on disney+. it's going to be quite a year. now is our time. ♪ this is what it's all been leading to. there's only one place that's home to all of this and so much more. disney+. kuma: longtime supervisor aaron peskin has been elected as an ex-president for the san francisco board of supervisors. he was elected yesterday in a atidthere were 17 rounds of vot. presten twicen00sn he willido on

2025 due to term limits. reggie: state's storm response. this is the along deer creek and sacramento county. he will unveil his new budget proposal. it will include an additional 200 million dollars for flood investments to protect urban areas. we will bring that to you live on our abc7 bay area streaming apps. napa county is bracing for more potentially dangerous winds. the area has already been hit hard by the storms with one winery losing a longtime centerpiece of its grounds. here is j.r. stone. j.r.: this may look like just another down tree but to those . >> it has been a really sad day.

this particular tree has really been part of our family. j.r.: tom davey's says this oaktree had been a highlight of the winery since they opened nearly 50 years ago. he said it had been standing in this spot for an estimated 275 years before coming down during the latest on that brought rain and heavy winds. >> for those that visit the winery, this majestic oak, literally hundreds of thousands of people have picnicked under this oaktree since the day we opened our doors in 1976. it has been a part of coming here and having a glass of wine and some salami and cheese. people just enjoying the beauty of the napa valley. j.r.: downed trees have been only part of the problem in wine country. edg in most areas but intersections like

this one in sonoma county near bigut >>ango down there. they spent a lot of money on itk about the flooding. >> t road cloofsure swork all around us. j.r.: frustration is high especially among those sitting in traffic like this just to get around the flooded areas. davies is trying to stay optimistic. a wineglass half full look at things. >> we and i guess we got it. we were came down at 4:00 a.m. and did not come down on a day when people were underneath it. it would have been devastating. j.r.: in certain areas like this one road closures are still in place because rain is in the forecast. in sonoma county, j.r. stone,

abc7 news. kumasi: parts of the peninsula are prone to flooding during big storms. several communities are already dealing with damages to homes and businesses. residents of this mobile home park say their water pumps failed and just down the road local businesses are feeling the impact of flooding as well. >> i have close to $200,000 worth of damage. i have 50 feet of rig. i have 10 rowing machines. kumasi: governor gavin newsom's request for federal support was approved yesterday. several local leaders are taking steps for more immediate support like san mateo's mayor who set up a gofundme page to assist those in the community most impacted. reggie: new this morning, 2020 two was the fifth warmest year on record according to a new report released by a european climate expert. the report explains that the last eight years have been the warmest eight years recorded worldwide.

europe experienced the hottest summer ever in 2022. the arctic sea ice is drinking according to satellite records. experts say is that is -- experts say it is the smallest they have seen in years. kumasi: they were like, stay in the house.and it is into perspective. r. it is bigger than that. reggie: that is depressing. drew: it is encouraging that we have more rainfall. is coming with wayne's. it is something we don't want to see right now. we will have to deal with that today and tomorrow. we had that squall line move through tomorrow -- this morning. we had some very fierce winds

gusting close to 70 miles an hour. we had a brief bout of heavy rain. we still have gusty winds right now. live doppler 7 showing downpours in marin county. we had a cold front moved through this morning. behind that cold front, clouds and more lightning strikes. we have to get through that later this morning and early afternoon. the threat is there for more thunderstorms. it is windy right now. winds close to 30 to 50 miles an hour. it is a level tthn oorste the biggest threats are wind and rain this morning as downpours set up once again. here is future weather. we will be in and out of downpours throughout the morning. the best chance of finding a storm is likely before noon today. later on this evening we will start to quiet down tomorrow watch what happens. our next storm will move in here by midday wednesday. again.

the winds will also pick up. future track will have the gusts of to 50 miles an hour once again. -- again. we have a flood watch in effect across the region. it is rain and wind and thunderstorms today. temperatures in the 50's overnight will be a bit of a break before the next storm tomorrow midday. here is the 7-day forecast. a level two today. tomorrow a level two as well. the worst happening between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.. were storm coming on saturday also a-- a worst storm coming on saturday also a level two. saturday also a level two. kumasi: a live look outside life's more fun when you join forces. ready for an adventure? eee! hulu and disney+ better together in a brand-new bundle. all for just 9.99 a month. aren't we a fine pair? hehe.

save big when you bundle hulu and disney+

drew: if you are just joining us, here are the seven things you need to know. scattered storms on your tuesday.

here is live doppler 7 you that first line that moved through. more showers and storms this morning expected. it is a level two. jobina: we have a major update to the alert we have been following along highway 17. it has reopened. travel is still not recommended here. i want to bring you a look outside for our commuter zones. the richmond-san rafael o bridge is very slick this morning. kumasi: there is still quite a bit of flooding in sonoma county. reggie: highway 17 in the santa cruz mountains is fully reopened this morning although travel is not recommended there. kumasi: highway 101 is open after it flooded in yesterday's storm. floodwaters also damaged homes nearby. reggie: a disaster in santa barbara county. a five-year-old was washed away in floodwaters and thousands have been evacuated due to the

threat of mudslides. kumasi: in the sierra the recent storms have brought multiple feet of new snow and problems. yesterday palisades closed most will -- closed multiple trails due to lightning. kirkwood had to close due to high winds. reggie: in sacramento powerful winds rip trees out of the ground including this one. video shows a large tree leaning on a home. you can see parts of the lawn hanging from its roots. rose shared these images. she says the wind is the worst she has ever seen in her 15 years living in sacramento. kumasi: the mega millions jackpot is crossing the $1 billion market. the one point dollar prize is the third-largest -- the $1.3 million prize is the third largest in jackpot history. the drawing starts at 8:00 p.m. reggie: good luck.

we have new developments about the teenager suspected of killing a security guard in san francisco. what his attorney is saying. kumasi: we are taking a look outside as we track the rain. this is san francisco international airport. drew is on top of everything you need to know and jobina is tracking the roads.

this is unlike anything else. follow me. ♪ a treasure map. oh my god! ♪ a land filled with adventure. ♪ this is epic! i love this place! ♪ it's wicked good. ♪

announcer: announcer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. reggie: race to rescue drivers sinflash flooding leaves drives stranded. a sinkhole swallowed up at least two cars. kumasi: the russian river cresting just below flood stage. reggie: winter storm warning in the sierra. how the resorts are dealing with dangerous conditions this week. kumasi: storming in san francisco. this is what it looked like earlier this morning outside of our station. drew is here with everything you need to know. good morning.

we are happy you are with us for this early edition of abc seven mornings. it is tuesday, january 10. drew: we had that line of heavy rain and strong winds move through here around 2:00 a.m. this morning with gusts up to 70 miles an hour and heavy wind -- heavy rain as well. there is that line that raced through here this morning. we are seeing scattered downpours in sonoma and napa county. a downpour about to move into hercules this morning. some lighter showers along the peninsula but we have some strong winds and more thunderstorm potential this morning. the winds are racing out of the southwest gusting 30, close to 50 miles an hour this morning. on the exclusive storm impact scale it is aev more scattered downpours are coming. the potential for a thunderstorm. the flood threat is with us. some gusty winds. even the possibility of hail