A storm system that has brought more than 5 inches of badly needed rain to parts of the Bay Area since Sunday is on its way out today, but another one is right behind it, a National Weather Service forecaster said.
Since Sunday, 2.5 inches of rain has fallen in San Francisco, more than 5 inches have fallen in some areas of the Peninsula and 3 inches has fallen in Oakland.
The region’s most rainfall was in the Mt. Tamalpais area of Marin County, which had over 8 inches, meteorologist Matt Mahle said.
But the South Bay has seen little of that rain. Only 0.75 inches has fallen in San Jose, Mahle said.
Heavy winds and rain in the North Bay and Peninsula brought down trees and power lines, causing thousands to lose power overnight. PG&E crews are working today to restore power, but it remains out for hundreds of residents and businesses, PG&E spokesman Joe Molica said.
Early this morning, 1,900 had lost power in the North Bay and 800 had lost it on the Peninsula. As of about 10:30 a.m., that was down to about 1,000 PG&E customers in the North Bay and 575 on the Peninsula, Molica said.
The worst of the stormy weather appears to be over and crews are working on making repairs. Molica said that PG&E asks anyone who encounters downed power lines not to approach them and to call 911 immediately.
Another storm expected to arrive Thursday will not bring as much precipitation but will be much colder and could make for a white Christmas in certain higher elevation areas, Mahle said.
There could be a mix of rain and snow in areas above 2,500 feet, which includes some of the East Bay hills and the Santa Cruz mountains, Mahle said.
Bay Area residents will get a break from rainfall on Wednesday after the current storm moves out of the region and before Thursday’s storm gets here, Mahle said.
Scott Morris, Bay City News
