Storm Evening

Hurricane-force winds have battered the Bay Area with winds only slightly below hurricane strength blowing over the city and Golden Gate Bridge.

About two inches of rain has fallen in the city in the worst storm in two years. In towns around the Bay Area the damage is extensive with up to 8 inches of rainfall.

In total over one million people lost power and a huge effort is underway to restore service. Thousands of people are still without power tonight.

On NBC 11's early evening news filming in the Bay Area showed many trees down, a massive sea swell with dramatic shots of waves breaking over a bridge and, further afield, snow blizzards in the Sierra.

According to the San Fran Chronicle, the highest gusts in the Bay Area were measured at 107 mph with winds of 70 mph on the Golden Gate Bridge and 78 mph on Angel Island in the Bay. Trees in the Golden Gate Park including 'heritage trees' have suffered damage and about 400 street trees have also been affected.

In San Francisco during the storm this morning trains were disrupted and cable cars halted until later morning when branches from two trees fell onto the tracks. One of the main tram lines through the centre also stopped running because of a tree on the line. Elsewhere in the city scaffolding fell down. Some cars have been damaged but no-one has been killed, and the zoo has temporarily closed, reported the paper.

South of the city the wind seemed to be considerably lighter in some parts that were sheltered by buildings, and whilst many flights were cancelled or delayed, the airport did not completely shut down.

By this afternoon much of the city was surprisingly back to normal. I rode through the city on a cable car to Fisherman's Wharf. There were leaves and twigs strewing some of the pavements but in Union Square and on the Wharf the Christmas trees appeared undamaged.

At the Wharf a straggle of tourists in yellow plastic rainwear made a doughty way down a gangway at 2.30 pm for the only bay cruise of the day.

Alcatraz and other ferries remained moored but at the Embarcadero monitors announced the resumption of services across the bay for later in the day.

A coffee shop employee at the Embarcadero described the day as 'disappointingly quiet' which probably sums up the city as a whole. While there were people on the streets it was far less populated.

Weather forecasters say that the worst is now over although quite heavy rain is expected to persist over the weekend with some thunderstorms possible over the city tomorrow.

Click for pics to see storm damage and the city in recovery - click on individual pics for larger views

Storm Morning

The storm is the big story here this morning. KTVU devoted hours to live reporting and continue on-line. The San Fran Chronicle likewise is giving extensive coverage.

In San fran the storm has brought about one inch of rain so far and some power outages.

Around parts of the city and over the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge winds were at 70 mph and a gust of 72 mph was recorded, just 2 mph below hurricane strength.

The Golden Gate Transit bus and ferry service has shut down. A tunnel leading to the Golden Gate Bridge and two bridge lanes have also been closed

The Bay ferries remain in port apart from the Almeda/Oakland Ferry, and across the Bay two BART trains have hit tree branches on the lines. Tram and cable car services have also been affected.

The airport is seeing a lot of delayed or cancelled flights.

Conditions are worse of course in other areas around California. According to the San Fran Chronicle up to eight inches of rain has fallen in some places and over half a million customers are without power in the region as a whole.

But gazing at the storm from near the centre of the city early this morning, people were walking with umbrellas up, which suggested a moderate wind. Given the forecast, it was surprising to see so many people out and about on foot and in cars, and many trains running.

In an empty apartment across from us, a window was left open and the wind forced the blinds out over the street. They dangled for a while and finally were torn from their rail. Fortunately no-one was injured as they hurtled down.

Today we are seeing the second wave of storms that will run over the weekend.