Wintry blast brings rare snow flurries across the San Francisco Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO -- For the first time in more than a decade, the National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for several communities across the San Francisco Bay Area.
A potent cold weather system roared into the region from the Northwest on Tuesday, triggering fierce winds that left behind toppled trees, damaged homes and thousands of power outages. As of 5 p.m., Pacific Gas & Electric reported that nearly 35,000 customers were still without electricity. A majority of those households -- 28,370 -- were on the Peninsula.
While the winds relented in the pre-dawn hours, the front presented new challenges for local residents -- plunging temperatures, rain and snow levels dropping down to 1,500 feet or lower over the next 48 hours.
Click for list of warming centers in Santa Clara County
"We'll see rain, cold temperatures, low elevation snow, thunderstorms and gusty winds," the weather service predicted in a Wednesday morning video alert. "There will be two rounds of snow showers. Round 1 begins today and will be on the lighter side. The second, more impactful one will arrive for Thursday and Friday."
ALSO READ: Residents in Santa Cruz Mountains brace for rare snowfall
Right around 5 p.m. Wednesday, snow started falling in the Redwood Estates. Initially, it melted as soon as it hit the ground, but residents were coming out to take pictures and videos of the snowfall and tried to catch snowflakes in their hands.
A short time later the snow was more noticeable but still wasn't heavy enough to accumulate much volume.
The Winter Storm Warning is the first that will be issued in the Bay Area since February 2011, according to CBS News Bay Area Chief Meteorologist Paul Heggen.
Forecasters warned that the gusty winds Thursday afternoon into early Friday will combine to create hazardous driving conditions.
Snow storms are a rarity in the Bay Area. In 1976 blizzard-like conditions left communities like Woodside looking more like Tahoe and on Feb. 5, 1887, a storm dumped 3.7 inches in downtown San Francisco.
Just how much snow is predicted to fall in the Bay Area over the next 48 hours?
KPIX Meteorologist Jessica Burch said 15 inches could fall in Lexington Hill in the Santa Cruz Mountains, 19.3 inches on Mt. Hamilton, 1 inch in Mt. Diablo and 4.3 inches in Santa Rosa.
