Atmospheric river storm hits Bay Area with strong winds, power outages, thunderstorm chances
The latest atmospheric river arrived on Wednesday in the Bay Area with damaging winds bringing down trees, the threat of thunderstorms, and possible snow in the highest peaks.
The storm which began sweeping over the North Bay in the morning was sliding south throughout the afternoon and evening. The National Weather Service said in its daily forecast discussion that southerly winds accompanying the rain created what the service called "nasty conditions outside."
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Damaging winds topple trees, cause outages
Strong winds caused thousands of power outages in San Francisco, along the Peninsula, and in the South Bay. As of around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, San Francisco and Daly City saw over 10,000 customers without power, according to the Pacific Gas and Electric outage map. Another 37,000-plus lost power in the South Bay, mostly in Los Altos, Mountain View (with over 10,000 alone, according to city officials), Sunnyvale, and Campbell. Nearly 5,000 customers also lost power in the East Bay.
By 6:30 p.m., those numbers were significantly reduced, with the South Bay still claiming most of the outages at over 12,000. The Peninsula, East Bay and North Bay all were reporting over 2,000 customers in each area. San Francisco's outages had been reduced to under 200.
A wind advisory was in place for the entire Bay Area from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, with winds forecast in the 20-30 mph range and gusts of up to 55 mph. The Weather Service said such winds will blow around unsecured objects and make for difficult driving, especially in high-profile vehicles. The wind will be strong enough to blow down trees and tree limbs, resulting in power outages.
The wind was strong enough to topple a large tree onto a work truck in Alamo on Wednesday at the corner of Danville Boulevard and Orchard Court. No one was in the truck at the time and no injuries were reported in the incident.
Further north, a fallen tree on the shoulder of westbound I-80 in Vacaville closed two lanes at around 4 p.m.
A tree came down onto the roof of a home daycare center in Redwood City Wednesday afternoon, but no one was hurt.
The home is located on Roosevelt Ave. and was evacuated. Video showed crews up on the roof cutting the tree into smaller, more manageable piece with a chainsaw for removal.
Another tree in Redwood City came down on State Route 35 a mile north of State Route 84 that also brought down power lines, according to CHP. That incident happened shortly before 5 p.m. Authorities said that the estimated time to reopen the roadway was 7 p.m.
Thunderstorm chances, special marine warning
The Weather Service said that after the cold front pushes through Wednesday afternoon/evening, cold air aloft will settle in, creating an unstable atmosphere. There is a 20-30% chance for thunderstorms across the entire Bay Area and Central Coast both Wednesday and Thursday. The thunderstorm hazards include lightning, gusty winds, localized flooding, and small hail.
A bulletin was issued for a severe thunderstorm warning earlier Wednesday for San Francisco and the northwestern Peninsula as radar indicated a line of thunderstorms coming ashore from the coast where a special marine warning had been issued the previous hour.
The bulletin, which expired at 2:45 p.m., said wind gusts of 60 mph were possible along with hail, with expected damage to roofs, siding, and trees.
Earlier off the coast, the Weather Service issued a bulletin Wednesday afternoon for a special marine warning, alerting of severe thunderstorms capable of producing waterspouts and wind gusts of more than 50 knots. The warning, which expired at 2:30 p.m., applied to coastal waters from Point Reyes to Point Pinos, and boaters were urged to seek safe harbor immediately.
Possible Bay Area snow
Most of the precipitation will fall as rain today, with higher elevations switching to snow overnight after the cold air starts to settle in behind the front, the Weather Service said. Previous forecasts indicated the region could also see snow at elevations higher than 3,000 feet.
In the Sierra Nevada, the incoming storm triggered a winter storm warning in effect until 11 p.m. Thursday. Heavy snow was expected with accumulations of 1 to 3 feet above 4,000 feet and up to 4 feet on the highest elevations.
A brief lull in the storm was expected by late Thursday before the next system arrives by Friday morning, however, it is expected to have a lesser impact than the first system. A third storm system, predicted to be even weaker, will bring another round of rain on Monday, the Weather Service said.
North Bay impacts
As the rain started to pour in San Rafael, people out running errands did their best to power through.
"I just got off work so just had to drive over and pick up some groceries," said local resident Raelene Garcia, a local.
She said she was not too concerned with the rainy forecast, as the where area she lives isn't prone to flooding.
"I think we're okay right now, so yeah. We're kind of in a newer development, so I think that that's helpful too," said Garcia.
Another local said he was already starting to see a bit of flooding near his home, but felt he'd be able to handle it.
"Where I live, little bit of flooding but it's okay. Do you feel pretty prepared going into the next few days? Oh yeah, as a retired cop from San Rafael you're always prepared right?" he explained.
Most people CBS News Bay Area spoke with said the wet weather is just par for the course in the North Bay and something everyone gets used to.
"It feels like we have an atmospheric river every couple of months, so yeah it feels about the same," said another woman.
For Garcia and so many others in Marin County, the plan seemed to be hunker down and wait for it to pass, hoping the sun will stay put a little longer after the weather passes.
"I'd like some sunshine," said Garcia.
Rainfall totals from latest atmospheric river
Wednesday's storm was not expected to bring the type of prolonged, heavy rain the Bay Area has seen this winter, but the narrow band of high-intensity rain pushing through could create some urban and small stream flooding as well as some shallow landslides, the Weather Service said.
Rainfall totals are forecast to be from 1 to 1.5 inches along coastal areas with 2 to 4 inches in the coastal mountains. Inland rainfall totals will be anywhere from 0.5 to 1 inch; 1 to 2 inches in the inland mountains.
Kelsi Thorud contributed to this story.
