Update 9:14 p.m.
About 2,800 PG&E customers in the Bay Area were without power Friday evening because of storm-related outages, a utility spokesman said.
The affected customers include 1,500 in the North Bay, 400 along the Peninsula, 800 in the East Bay, 50 in the South Bay and 50 in San Francisco, PG&E spokesman Fiona Chan said.
An additional 1,200 customers are without power in the Santa Cruz Mountains, as well as a little more than 1,200 others in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, Chan said.
The storm caused outages to nearly 16,000 Bay Area PG&E customers at its peak overnight, according to PG&E.
Update 4 p.m.
So far, the North Bay has been hardest hit by this storm. Here's a video of vehicle stranded on Hwy. 121 earlier today from Healdsburg Patch.
In Santa Cruz County, a dead body was found floating in rain-swollen Soquel Creek around 11 a.m. It's not yet clear how his death might be related to the storm.
Update, 12:45 p.m. Friday:
The storm system was moving southeast through the Bay Area late Friday morning and is expected to soak the entire region for the rest of the day, forecaster Diana Henderson said.
In the past 24 hours, parts of Sonoma County saw more than 7.5 inches of rain while the Santa Cruz Mountains were deluged with 7 inches. Rainfall in the past day was recorded at 4.33 inches in Calistoga.
Water pooled on southbound Hwy. 101 near the San Fransisco International Airport, according to the California Highway Patrol. Near Woodside, there was a foot of water reported on Hwy. 280 at Woodside Road.
Update, noon Friday:
Alpine Road closed south of Hwy. 280 due to trees and wires down on the roadway. Anticipated to be closed for several hours. Please use alternate routes.
Rainfall totals are rising. As of 11:10 a.m., Mount St. Helena in Napa had received 5.31 inches of rain in the past 24 hours and Boulder Creek, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, recorded 6.11 inches.
In flood-prone areas, such as San Anselmo in the North Bay, residents and business owners are using sandbags to protect their property. See more on San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch.
Update, 11 a.m. Friday:
Heavy rains continued to pelt the San Francisco Bay Area late Friday morning, causing water levels to rise in creeks and rivers, knocking out power in many parts of the region and canceling flights at San Francisco International Airport.
The flight cancellations—30 arrivals and 30 departures—started early this morning, will continue to affect flights until about noon, airport duty manager Joe Walsh said. A delay program is in place at the airport until the end of the day.
He advised passengers check with their airlines before arriving at the airport.
In the East Bay, there has been only one flight canceled this morning out of Oakland International Airport and no flight delays have been reported. Mineta San Jose International Airport in San Jose has no cancellations or delays because of the weather.
By mid-morning, the number of PG&E customers without power in the Bay Area had dropped to about 4,600. The storm-related outages peaked earlier in the day with nearly 16,000 customers in the dark.
Update, 8:30 a.m. Friday:
The stormy weather is back.
About 7,600 PG&E customers remain without power in the Bay Area Friday morning because of storm-related outages, a utility spokeswoman said.
Some mountainous areas had received more than 4 inches of rain by 7 p.m. Thursday, according to 24-hour rainfall totals tallied by the National Weather Service.
And the precipitation is causing problems on Bay Area roads Friday morning.
- Hwy. 84 reopened in Woodside around 7:45 a.m. after a tree fell and briefly blocked the roadway, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.
- Heavy rain overnight caused flooding that shut down Hwy. 12 south of Sonoma this morning, a California Highway Patrol officer said. The flooding was reported around 5:30 a.m. on Hwy. 12 at the intersection with Hwy. 121 near Sonoma Creek.
- Overnight, a fallen tree and downed wires caused a two-hour closure of Hwy. 128 near Calistoga in Napa County.
Rainfall totals varied significantly across the San Francisco Bay Area. As of 7 p.m. Thursday, just 0.37 inches of precipitation was measured in Redwood City. Moffett Field recorded 0.73 inches of rain but Lexington Hills, in Santa Clara County, received 4.72 inches of rain.
In Napa County, the airport got 0.71 inches. Atlas Peak recorded 4.44 inches of rain. The Sonoma County Airport received 2.88 inches and, in Petaluma, there was 1.93 inches of rain.
As of 8 a.m., about 3,700 customers were without power in the North Bay, 1,250 along the Central Coast, 900 in the Sonoma area, 880 along the Peninsula, 420 in San Francisco, 330 in the South Bay and about 60 each in the East Bay and San Jose, PG&E spokeswoman Jana Morris said. The storm had caused outages to nearly 16,000 Bay Area PG&E customers at its peak overnight, according to PG&E.
Original Story, 5 p.m. Thursday:
Hope you enjoyed Thursday's relatively clear skies because the next onslaught of wind and rain hits the San Fransisco Bay Area this evening and is expected to worsen Friday.
The flash flood watches go into effect at 7 p.m. for the coastal North Bay and mountainous areas, parts of the Monterey Bay area, the Peninsula and Santa Cruz Mountains. That's where several inches of rain is expected to fall, according to the National Weather Service.
"Greater Sonoma/Napa County areas should get hit pretty hard--particularly Napa and Petaluma area creeks," the NWS posted on its Facebook page, which is a consistent source of storm updates.
A high wind advisory starts at 8 a.m. Friday. Wind gust will be enough to blow down trees and power lines, problems that many areas have already experienced this week. Old La Honda Road in Woodside was closed for more than an hour Thursday when a tree fell across it and, Wednesday, hundreds of Pacifica residents lost power.
Gusts Friday could reach 60 mph. The wind advisory is in effect until 7 a.m. Monday.
A high surf advisory along the Bay Area coast will also be issued at 9 a.m. Friday and continue through 4 a.m. Saturday. Swells are anticipated to reach up to 16 feet, and local beaches may experience rip currents and erosion from the strong waves and surf.
A high wind advisory was issued for the Gold Gate Bridge at 1:10 p.m. Thursday. The California Highway Patrol advised motorists use caution while crossing the span.
Stormy weather will last through the weekend. The rain will let up Monday, but more wet weather is expected Tuesday.
—Bay City News contributed to the report.
