Widespread, sometimes heavy rain hits Bay Area on Monday morning

The rainshowers on Monday morning were widespread throughout the Bay Area, serving as an opening act for what's expected to be a wet week.

Expecting an easy week before some time off for the holidays? Leaving home early for work or school might be in your best interest as a messy commute was predicted to be a near certainty for the entirety of the week.

Widespread and consistent rain showers opened up Monday morning on what was expected to be a wet and chaotic week throughout the Bay Area, according to the National Weather Service.

Rain bands featuring moderate to heavy rainfall hit San Francisco and the northern tips of the Peninsula and East Bay as early as 5 a.m. Monday. The rainfall Monday was expected to come in “waves,” according to the NWS, resulting in between an inch and one-and-a-half inches of rain in San Francisco between 12 a.m. Monday and 4 a.m. Tuesday. Other forecasts for that timeframe included between one-half and one inch in Concord and no more than one-half of an inch in San Jose and Livermore.

Heads up #SanFrancisco. Next band of moderate to briefly heavy rain will be here shortly. #cawx pic.twitter.com/QnPYPTCZzm

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) December 18, 2023

The NWS urged commuters on Monday morning to leave early for work or school, as wet road conditions will be the case on all Bay Area roads and highways. BART warned commuters that its trains were running at slower speeds due to the conditions.

BART is running trains at slower speeds due to wet weather. Please watch your step on wet stairways and platforms. Use our Trip Planner and check Real Time Departures on the BART official app or https://t.co/4R5amc59Jx

— BART Alert (@SFBARTalert) December 18, 2023

The brunt of that rainfall was expected before 10 a.m. throughout the entirety of the Bay Area, though that doesn’t mean the rainfall will completely cease to exist. Rain bands were expected to become more scattered in the afternoon and into the evening, meaning they’ll be less widespread throughout the region and more inconsistent.