Asia-Pacific
Winter storms pound San Francisco Bay Area
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-21 19:11
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SAN FRANCISCO: A series of powerful winter storms has pounded the San Francisco Bay Area since Monday, knocking out power to thousands, flooding highways and closing schools.
The entire Bay Area got drenched as Wednesday's fierce storm appeared to be stronger than the one that struck Tuesday. More than one inch of rain fell in most parts of the Bay Area, with more than three inches in some sections.
On Wednesday, US Highway 101 in San Jose, a city located at the southern end of the Bay Area, was left under water and its southbound lanes were closed for most of the day.
Meanwhile, rain and thunderstorms with strong winds prompted a tornado warning in the South Bay. According to local TV reports, the National Weather Service said the warnings for Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties were quite rare, adding that they were only the second or the third tornado warnings ever issued by the office.
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As of 9:45 p.m. PST Wednesday (0545 GMT Thursday), there were about 5,800 customers without power in the Bay Area, mostly in the South Bay, PG&E said in updates sent to media outlets.
Due to flooding and fallen trees, the San Francisco Zoo was closed on Wednesday after it was shut down earlier than scheduled on Tuesday.
In downtown San Jose, the Guadalupe River overflowed its banks in some areas and local authorities have been closely watching the situation.
Authorities in Oakland, 13 km east of San Francisco, have been providing sandbags and plastic sheets to residents to help them prepare for additional storms.
Another storm was forecast for Thursday, but has been projected to be weaker than the previous ones.
Weather experts said the series of storms was consistent with an El Nino event and Northern California will probably be hit by increasingly intense storms in the coming months.
