While the storm dumped rain on the North Bay, a mudslide forced the closure of the Silverado Trail in Napa County on Friday.
The rain also created a mess on Highway 121, closing the roadway near the city of Sonoma.
Crews had to clear a significant mudslide on the Silverado Trail between Oak Knoll Road and Yountville. Around 2 a.m. Friday, the hill gave way and Highway 29 was closed for nearly four hours.
Napa County Assistant Superintendent of Public Works Dave Cardwell had a unique way of describing the debris flow.
“Just like chocolate milk,” he said. “Like chocolate pudding.”
Crews removed the mud and installed K-rails before the road opened. The hill above was prepared to become a new vineyard.
“There weren’t really any rocks in the material,” Cardwell said. “It was a vineyard that was being developed, so it had all this really nice soil that they had just reworked.”
The Napa River was not expected to reach flood stage, but the Oxbow Flood Gates were closed after the river reached a trigger point of 20 feet at Oak Knoll.
Near the city of Sonoma, Highway 121 was closed due to Sonoma Creek overflowing onto the roadway. Some surrounding streets were also closed.
“Flooding here and trees and branches on the road, it was exciting,” said Napa resident Jack Parodi.
Parodi said he has been traveling back and forth for about 30 years. He has seen many major storms and knows all about closing Highway 121.
“Driving back and forth from work in Santa Rosa to home in Napa, it was just crazy,” he said.
