Sopping wet: County soaked by heavy downpours

Oh, when will it all end?

Maybe Sunday. Maybe Monday. The soonest sunny skies are predicted is Tuesday. And for many on the Peninsula and throughout California, it can’t come soon enough.

Thursday’s rain storm packed a wallop, flooding roads, downing trees, utility cables and power lines and turning umbrellas into useless pieces of vinyl and metal.

Industrial Road in San Carlos had nearly knee-deep flooding near San Carlos Avenue throughout the day, forcing some motorists to abandon their cars. Flash flood warnings were issued by the National Weather Service for Pescadero Creek at 5 p.m. as water levels rose to just under the flood stage. And a fallen tree blocked traffic in both directions on state Highway 84 about three-quarters of a mile from Portola Road in Woodside, according to county emergency officials.

At around noon, a fallen power line forced the shutdown of East Third Avenue in San Mateo and Foster City in both directions from Norfolk Avenue to Mariners Island Boulevard. The line was removed by Pacific Gas and Electric workers and the road reopened last evening, according to San Mateo police.

Highway 1 just south of Manor Drive in Pacifica was closed for more than three hours because of a downed utility pole reported at about 10:50 a.m. Comcast crews cleared the highway and the road reopened just after 2 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Throughout the Bay Area, nearly 5,000 PG&E customers were without power through the afternoon due to stormy weather, a utility spokeswoman said.

As of 3:45 p.m., the hardest-hit area was the North Bay, where about 2,400 customers were without electricity, many in the Inverness Park area, PG&E spokeswoman Fiona Chan said.

About 1,000 customers in the East Bay were also without power, mostly in the areas of Concord, El Sobrante and Pinole, Chan said.

There were about 1,500 customers affected by outages along the Peninsula and in the South Bay, primarily in the areas of Millbrae and Sunnyvale, she said.

The Bay Area experienced winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts of up to about 45 mph in some areas, according to the National Weather Service. A high surf advisory was issued for the entire Bay Area until 9 p.m. Friday and forecasters predict swells between 15 and 18 feet that will increase rapidly. The conditions are expected to produce strong rip currents and minor coastal flooding is possible, forecasters said.

The local forecast calls for showers and rain throughout Friday and Saturday, with a possible breather early Friday. There is a chance of rain Saturday night and Sunday, with a chance of showers Sunday night. Monday is predicted to be partly cloudy with a chance of rain. The first day of sunny weather appears to be Tuesday, according to forecasters.