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MONTEREY – A strong storm system has pushed into the Bay Area, bringing torrents of widespread rain, gusty winds and snow on the area’s highest peaks
Rain swept into the North Bay overnight Wednesday and began moving north to south as the morning wore on, ultimately forecast to deliver 1 to 2.5 inches of rain to North Bay and coastal mountain ranges, 0.5 to 1.25 inches to interior hills and 0.5 to 1 inch to the rest of the region.
As of noon Thursday, heavy rainfall and gusting winds had drenched San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, with the North Bay receiving the biggest downpour — complete with winds topping 50 mph on Mt. St. Helena peaks and temperatures in the mid-40s, said NWS meteorologist Roger Gass.
Rain arrived just in time to slicken roads for many commuters, prompting warnings from agencies like Santa Clara County Fire Department and San Francisco County that drivers ought to slow down and watch out.
“All indications are that the rainfall will be pretty heavy this morning,” Gass said.
While the weather service said the system could also bring 1 to 2 inches of snow to the region’s highest peaks — with 2 inches recorded on Mt. Umunhum by midday — residents well below 3,000 feet also reported seeing a dusting near Mount Diablo along Marsh Creek Road. Snow fell on the summit along Highway 17.
A flood advisory, meanwhile, was issued through 12:30 p.m. for southwest Alameda, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and west Santa Clara County as rain pelted the coast. In San Francisco, meanwhile, county officials also alerted residents to watch out for minor flooding along roadways and in low-lying homes, and to check on elderly friends and neighbors.
Utility PG&E warned earlier this week that power outages are possible during the storm’s peak. Its outage map indicated several San Francisco and North Bay locations reporting a lack of power Thursday morning, but it was not immediately clear if those outages were related to the storm or not.
Isolated thunderstorms and hail are possible Thursday afternoon and evening, with small hail reported across the Santa Cruz mountains late Thursday morning, NWS said. Showers will likely linger into early Friday morning.
“It’s going to be tapering off more and more as we get later into Thursday,” meteorologist Anna Schneider said. “After it’s out of here, we might see some clearing for a couple of days.”
The same storm system will deliver 1 to 2 feet of snow to elevations above 2,000 to 3,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, according to the weather service’s forecast office in Sacramento.
A winter storm warning took effect at 6 p.m. Wednesday and is slated to run through 6 a.m. Friday. Major delays, along with chain controls and road closures, are likely. The weather service said travel is highly discouraged Wednesday night and Thursday.
Check back for updates.
