Peninsula recovers from storm

“This is definitely an all hands on deck event,” Johnson said. “The weather came in really strong here in the Bay Area.”

Much of the eastern portion of the Peninsula saw 3 to 5 inches of rain while higher elevations saw as much as 8.5 inches. San Francisco International Airport saw wind gusts of 60 mph, while winds peaked at 41 mph in the city of San Mateo, said Sean Miller, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

The rain, he said, is expected to either set records or be close to setting records for precipitation for this time of year. The 4.02 inches of rain measured in downtown San Francisco is the most for the city of any day in October in recorded history. 

The remainder of the week and moving into next week is expected to be dry, with the potential for some rain on Tuesday limited to the North Bay, Miller said. 

In total, approximately 504,000 PG&E customers in the state lost power at some point during the storm, which moved into the Bay Area Sunday afternoon and had cleared out by Monday morning. San Mateo was among the hardest hit counties, with 26,000 still without power early Monday.

In addition, some areas in the southwest portion of the county previously damaged by the CZU Lightning Complex fires were under a brief mandatory evacuation due to flash flood and mudslide risks. All evacuation orders in the county had been lifted as of Monday morning.

 Despite some fallen branches, standing water and slippery slopes, the county emerged from the storm without any major damage, county spokesperson Michelle Durand said in an email.

Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, however, will remain closed for at least three days after untreated sewer water was released into the ocean following nearly 6 inches of rain in the area that overwhelmed the sewer system.

PG&E will prioritize restoring power to customers whose power has been out the longest, those within large areas where many customers are affected, and critical facilities such as hospitals, fire stations and schools, Johnson said.

Outages were caused mainly by vegetation, trees and debris interfering with lines, though some poles broke simply from wind, he said. 

Though the rain will help, the state remains within a drought state of emergency, as critical reservoirs remain well below normal. Lake Oroville rose 20 feet after this week’s rainfall, but remains 137 feet below the level it was this time in 2019. 

The majority of the state, 87% including San Mateo County, remains in an “extreme drought” which entails a year-round fire season and the potential for fires to occur in typically wet areas, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. 

Got to pge.com for the latest on outages and for safety tips.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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