High winds and heavy rain hit the Bay Area Sunday, bringing downed trees, swollen rivers, and thunderstorms to the region. Although flooding and rainfall was not as severe as predicted, the high winds came as advertised.
“The winds are the main hazard with this system,” said Sarah McCorkle, a meteorologist with the national weather service. “They’re shaping up to be pretty bad.”
The winds caused massive delays at San Francisco International Airport, averaging more than four hours by early afternoon.
In San Jose, an enormous tree fell on a townhome on Rocky Creek Court, crushing the garage. In Alameda, a firefighters and the Coast Guard responded to a boat in distress of the island’s shore. In Monterey, wind gusts as high as 88 mph were recorded. Powerful winds led to power outages and closed roads from the peninsula to the East Bay.
As of 1 p.m., PG&E said more than 70,000 customers had their power knocked out, with 22,411 without power in the South Bay, 23,607 in the North Bay and 17,949 in the East Bay. The Peninsula and San Francisco were impacted in a lesser extent with 5,965 and 497 customers without power, respectively.
The heaviest bands of rain fell along the coast, from Mt. Tamalpais to the Santa Cruz mountains. Downtown San Jose, by Sunday morning saw only .67 inches of rain, whereas upwards of 4 inches fell in the Big Sur region.
Water levels on the Guadalupe River through San Jose was expected to peak at 11 feet, nearly two feet above flood stage. Instead, by 2 p.m the river was only at 7 feet and beginning to decline. .
Residents from San Jose to the Monterey coast were warned to hunker down on Saturday. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan declared a local state of emergency and warned unhoused people living along the Guadalupe River to evacuate. In Monterey County, evacuations were ordered for residents along parts of the Carmel River and in a Salinas neighborhood. The National Weather Service’s Monterey office issued its first ever hurricane force wind for the central coast.
Only residual flooding should remain by Monday morning, although high winds and saturated soils could still lead to more downed trees or hazards in the road.
“We’re just telling people to be careful still, even if the rain stopped there are still hazards out there,” McCorkle said
Check back for updates.
