Heavy rain and intense winds struck the Bay Area on Christmas morning, prompting flash flood warnings and freeway closures. Downtown San Francisco received 0.74 inches of rain between 5 p.m. Wednesday and 5 a.m. Thursday. The strongest wind gusts reached 92 mph at a PG&E station in northwestern San Mateo County. Westbound Highway 24 in Orinda and southbound US 101 at Yerba Buena Road experienced closures due to flooding and a vehicle crash, and sections of Highway 87 were affected by floodwaters. About 14,815 PG&E customers in Sonoma County lost power. A flood watch remained, with forecasts calling for continued strong winds and a chance of thunderstorms later.
"A powerful storm drenched the Bay Area with rain and battered it with strong winds early Christmas morning, triggering a flash flood warning and shutting down parts of freeways. Downtown San Francisco received 0.74 inches of rain between 5 p.m. on Wednesday and 5 a.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service reported. The heaviest wind gusts recorded were 92 mph at a PG&E station in northwestern San Mateo County."
"All lanes of westbound Highway 24 in Orinda were closed due to flooding Thursday morning, the CHP posted on social media at 5:25 a.m. Drivers were being diverted off the freeway to the Orinda off-ramp, with no estimate on when the lanes would reopen. In San Jose, all lanes on southbound US 101 at Yerba Buena Road were closed due to a vehicle crash, and some lanes of southbound Highway 87 near state Highway 85 were shut down because of flooding."
Read at SFGATE
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