Over 150,000 customers lost power in the Bay Area and Central Coast while San Francisco experienced its first recorded tornado warning over the weekend, as a storm with wind gusts of more than 80 mph moved through the area.
By about 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, PG&E had restored power to a significant number of customers, but over 65,000 customers were still without electricity at that time, according to PG&E spokesperson Jeff Smith.
The tornado warning from the National Weather Service was triggered by wind velocity metrics that measure inbound and outbound wind speeds coming to and from radar stations, according to Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
He said it was the first tornado warning issued for San Francisco since the National Weather Service started issuing them in 1950.
The main rotation was recorded in the northwest portion of the city from Golden Gate Park to the Presidio, Gass said, but he could not yet confirm the speed of the rotational winds. He said a survey team was on its way to the area as of about 2:30 p.m. Saturday to measure whether the rotational winds touched the ground, which would categorize the event as a tornado.
The warning was issued shortly after the winds were detected at 5:51 a.m. and was lifted about 20 minutes later.
Winds in lower elevations around the Bay Area generally ranged from the 20-30 mph range, while higher elevations saw averages of between 55-65 mph, with gusts of more than 80 mph.
Rain totals were highest in the North Bay, with just over between 3-5 inches in higher elevations and 3 inches of rain recorded over the past 24 hours at Charles M. Shultz-Sonoma County Airport, according to Gass.
Oakland International Airport recorded just less than an inch of rain, while downtown San Francisco recorded roughly 1.6 inches of rain.
Lower elevations in Santa Clara County saw slightly less, with about half an inch to just over an inch, but the Santa Cruz Mountains saw more, with between 2-4 inches recorded in the last 24 hours.
Power outages across the region
The North Bay was hit hardest by power outages, with nearly 50,000 customers losing power Saturday morning, according to Smith. That number had been reduced to about 27,000 customers by 2:45 p.m.
In the East Bay, about 13,700 PG&E customers remained without power on Saturday afternoon, down from about 29,000 customers Saturday morning.
The South Bay had about 15,000 outages at one point, which had been reduced to about 12,500 in the afternoon.
There were still about 8,000 customers in the San Mateo County area without power on Saturday afternoon, after outages initially impacted more than 13,000.
San Francisco had about 13,000 customers lose power at the storm’s peak. That number was reduced to about 3,100 by the afternoon.
A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Emergency Management, Jackie Thornhill, said the Department activated its Emergency Management Center to coordinate the response and a damage survey was being conducted as of about 2:10 p.m.
She said there were 120 storm-related emergency calls, including downed trees and wires, and vehicle collisions. Damage included a tree falling into a fire station and damage to several private homes. She said there had been no confirmed storm-related injuries or fatalities but said assessments were ongoing on Saturday.
Gass said rain would dissipate after lingering clouds leave the Bay Area Saturday afternoon and Sunday was forecast to be mostly sunny, before light rain returns Monday.
A coastal flood advisory remains in effect through Monday afternoon.
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