A cyclist braves a waterlogged path along Berkeley’s waterfront on Jan. 3, 2026. p.m. Credit: Bentham Paulos
Despite flooded roads along the water, Berkeley seems to have been spared the worst of the rain and tidal flooding that has walloped other parts of the Bay Area. But weather experts warned that there’s a chance of landslides until the area dries out — which should happen soon, since the rain is expected to end after Monday night.
The more saturated the ground becomes, the higher the risk for “small landslides and rock slips,” according to Roger Gass, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Monterey office. “I wouldn’t say that you can’t completely rule out a larger landslide, but we’re not quite to that saturation level.”
Nearly every waterfront city on the San Francisco and San Pablo bays was under a coastal flood advisory until 3 p.m. Monday. A days-long rainy pattern overlapped with a “king tide,” an unofficial term for a once- or twice-yearly phenomenon where the Earth, moon and sun are aligned to generate higher-than-normal tides.
Flooding at Aquatic Park on Sunday. Credit: Guillaume Pierre
Floodwater left parts of the Berkeley Marina and surrounding area submerged on Jan. 5, 2026, but some blue skies in the morning teased the sunny weather forecast for the rest of the week. Credit: Sonia L. Pang
The NWS forecast high tides more than a foot above normal which, combined with the rain, left some roads and paths around the Berkeley Marina and Aquatic Park waterlogged this weekend and Monday morning. (Intrepid runners and cyclists nevertheless went about their customary workouts, according to photographs submitted to Berkeleyside.) Further inland, Ada Street flooded between Miramonte Court and California Street, but the water receded after neighbors cleared a storm drain there, according to a local resident.
Ada Street flooded between Miramonte Court and California Street. Credit: Lea Delson
Between noon Sunday and noon Monday, Berkeley and Oakland got about a third of an inch of rain, and Richmond about a half-inch, according to the NWS. Gass said the recent rainfall was “typical” for the winter months.
The tide heights, by contrast, broke several records around the Bay Area, including in Richmond, where the NWS measured the highest tide ever recorded on Saturday. (The NWS does not have a water level station in Berkeley.)
A vehicle drives through water at the I-80 frontage road off-ramp onto Hearst Avenue around 1 p.m. on Jan. 3. Credit: Staci Prado/BeFree Photography
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