Pounding South Bay rain causes traffic mess, clogs gutters

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Rain pounded the South Bay Monday and it had an impact on roads and businesses.

The nonstop rain in the Santa Cruz mountains made for messy roads. On Highway 17 an overturned truck blocked a lane and slowed traffic. Less than a mile away, another driver lost control and rolled over. Jeanette Lopez was in the passenger seat.

"When he hit the wall, he lost control and we ended up going on a little slope so he could get control but the car flipped," said Lopez.

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Lopez and the driver had to climb out of the window. Fortunately they weren't injured. CHP officers were stationed at many areas along the winding highway because they know drivers don't slow down in rain.

Caltrans crews are watching for debris to make sure storm drains don't clog. For some, the rain was a reminder to get their gutters cleared.

At Alex Gutter, they're getting a lot of calls from residents. Alejandra Rodriguez, a receptionist there said people call with a number of issues.

"Our gutters need repair, they need cleaning, water is overflowing all that kind of stuff and we just get calls coming in and out because people don't realize they have a gutter problem until the rain comes in," said Rodriguez.

But none of their crews can go out because it's too slippery for climbing ladders. They're scheduling work for when it dries mid week. The rain is encouraging considering the region has had such a dry December. All the reservoirs in South Bay a little more than half of the normal average during this time of year.

"Right now we're very happy there is rain because we continue in our water conservation program. We keep on monitoring our reservoirs and our lakes and we're very pleased right now with the way the conditions are," said Richard Santos, Vice Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

The water district says the area typically gets most of its rainfall in January and February. So they're optimistic the rain will continue through the season.

The storm ranked a "3" on the exclusive ABC7 Storm Impact Scale.

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