But Wait, There's More

The Bay Area got socked -- and soaked Tuesday as the third round of a line of storms moved through the region.

Forecasters say Wednesday will be an exact replica, if not worse.

Drivers faced heavy wind and rain on the morning commute as round three of a five-system storm settled in for what promises to be a messy week on roadways. The storm is also bringing hail and lightning to the region. Heavy downpours rain in the morning eased by midday, although the threat of a thunderstorm or two remained.

The California Highway Patrol issued a wind advisory for several Bay Area bridges. Strong winds caused hazardous driving conditions on the Richmond/San Rafael and San Mateo/Hayward bridges early in the pre-dawn hours. A travel advisory due to strong winds on the Bay Bridge and the Dumbarton Bridge remained in place since about 12:20 a.m., according to the CHP.

Here are some wind gusts:

  • Golden Gate Bridge- 75 mph
  • Campbell- 75 mph
  • Burlingame- 73 mph
  • SFO- 60 mph
  • Berkeley- 60 mph

Wind and surf warnings are in place through Thursday afternoon.

PG&E crews around the Bay Area are poised to repair power lines that are likely to be damaged in the heavy wind and rain. Nearly 45,000 customers delt with outages Monday. The company says customers should expect more outages as the storms continue to move through the region. If you would like to report an outage call PG&E at 800-743-5002.

The wet and windy day will only be worse Thursday, as the fourth of five storms is expected to barrel through the Bay Area. The concern with that storm is the amount of rain it will add to an already-saturated ground.

Sand bags are being made available at many locations throughout the area to help residents prevent flooding.

The National Weather Service issued a handful of watches and warnings including a HIGH SURF WARNING through Thursday at 4 p.m. Swells will be as high as 25 feet. High tide at the Golden Gate Wednesday is set for 2:42 a.m. and 2:18 p.m.

There are also Flood Advisories from Marin County across the Bay Area to Santa Cruz County Tuesday.

Pieces of the beach continue to erode with high wind and big waves. There is a Coastal Flood Watch and a High Surf Warning through Thursday at 4 p.m.

Businesses in the Marin County town of San Anselmo weren't taking any chances. Many merchants placed sandbags outside their doorways Monday in anticipation of the heavy downpours. The memory of the New Year's Day 2006 storm, when the creek overspilled its banks and flooded the streets, ruining many of the shops, is all too fresh.

New technology is allowing everyone to check levels with the click of a mouse which links to rivers levels. Just put your mouse over the dot and a window will pop up with critical information. On the right side of the screen you'll see the flood stage for each river as you place your mouse over the dot. The dot will be green if all is okay with that river, yellow if we need to start monitoring and red if there is flooding. 

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