UPDATES: Peninsula Weather Alerts & News

UPDATES, SUNDAY 1:16 P.M.:

Redwood City Police issued a code red alert around 12:30 p.m. that high tide will occur around 1:42 this afternoon, and could cause flooding in areas of southeast Redwood City. They advise that, if residents will need to leave their homes this afternoon, to try and do it before high tide, and warn not to try and drive down flooded streets.

The roads in Belmont that were closed earlier Sunday morning re-opened around 11:15 a.m.

PG&E is still working to restore power to thousands of Bay Area residents.

UPDATES, SUNDAY 9:38 A.M.:

The rain is back in full force on Sunday morning.

CHP is reporting a whopping 70 traffic incidents on freeways currently. 

"Please buckle up, slow for conditions, and be attentive," authorities caution.

In Palo Alto, the police department reports that the westbound Oregon Expressway underpass at Alma Street is closed due to flooding. There is no estimated time for re-opening currently.

In Belmont, a stretch of Ralston Avenue between El Camino Real and Old County Road is closed due to flooding at the intersection beneath the Caltrain tracks, and the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Old County Road is also closed due to flooding.

PG&E is reporting several power outages throughout the Peninsula. In San Mateo, roughly 1,224 customers are without power; in Menlo Park, roughly 144 customers; in Pacifica, roughly 687 customers; in Burlingame, roughly 193 customers; in Redwood City, roughly 207 customers; in San Bruno, around 236 customers.

Is your neighborhood without power? Tell us in the comments.

UPDATES, FRIDAY 2:43 P.M.:

The City of Palo Alto said crews are tending to a number of street flooding issues this afternoon:

• Significant flooding on West Bayshore near Varian.
• Significant flooding of E. Bayshore near the City's Municipal Service Center due to the rising tide.
• Please avoid driving vehicles through any ponded water or flooded areas to avoid stalling your vehicle and requiring assistance. 

San Mateo County officials also sent out a bulletin that downed power lines and trees had fallen on Alpine Road near 280 in the Portola Valley area. They expect that road to be closed through mid-afternoon, and advise motorists to avoid the area.

UPDATES, FRIDAY 11:08 A.M.:

Stormy weather Friday morning is affecting travel plans in and out of the Bay Area, according to airport officials.

At San Francisco International Airport, 60 flights - 30 arrivals and 30 departures - have been canceled this morning, airport duty manager Joe Walsh said.

The cancellations, which started early this morning, will continue to affect flights until about noon, Walsh said. A delay program is in place at the airport until the end of the day, Walsh said. He advised passengers check with their airlines before arriving at the airport.

In the East Bay, there has been only one flight canceled this morning out of Oakland International Airport, an airport operations employee said. No flight delays have been reported there.

Mineta San Jose International Airport has no cancellations or delays because of the weather, airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes said.

UPDATES, FRIDAY 9:36 A.M.:

The second in a series of storms expected to take place between Thursday and Sunday is underway on the Peninsula and elsewhere in the south, east and north Bay areas.

Overnight, thousands of customers lost power when one of PG&E's transmission lines temporarily failed, according to Joe Molica, a company spokesperson.

"Last night we had a transmission line in the north part of the county temporarily go down," Molica reported. "The latest storm brought strong wind and rain, and we did have an issue with one of our large transmission lines, and there was a short outage to approx 13,000 of our customers."

In San Mateo, more than 1,400 reportedly lost power in the middle of the night. 

Molica said PG&E worked quickly to fix the problem, and power came back on not long after it went out. However, cautions that more problems may occur as the storm continues to pound the Bay Area.

"We have two storms down, but one more strong storm is to come - we expect it to hit Saturday night," he said.

Molica said, residents should be cognizant of downed power lines - but, if you see, one, keep everyone away and call 9-1-1 immediately.

In other storm news, a downed tree blocked Highway 84/Woodside Road in the Redwood City/Woodside area temporarily Friday morning. Crews worked quickly to clear the road, but traffic was slow through that area.

Unfortunately Sam Malouf - a small business owner who owns a clothing store on Burlingame Avenue - arrived at work early to find a downed tree had crashed through one of his store's front windows.

Vanessa Shea, who owns Avenue Pet Salon on Burlingame Avenue not far from Malouf's store, said she arrived early to open her store and saw several police cars on the scene, aiding Malouf. (Photos courtesy of John Shea)

Note: You can also check this story for updates on North Bay and Santa Cruz County weather conditions.

UPDATES, THURSDAY 6:17 P.M.:

San Mateo County announced a Flash Flood Watch is in place from 7 p.m. Thursday night through Friday afternoon. Impacts may include smaller creeks overflowing their banks, debris flows, and landslides in mountainous areas.

A Wind Advisory is in place through Friday with gusts over 50 mph in some areas. Impacts may include downed trees, downed powerlines and possible power outages.

A High Surf Advisory is in place from 9 a.m. Friday through 4 a.m. Saturday on the San Mateo County coastline.  Impacts may include strong rip currents, large breaking waves, and possible beach erosion.

Original story, Thursday, 2 p.m.:

More rain has arrived in the Bay Area this afternoon, as a series of storms continues to pass through the region, a National Weather Service forecaster said.

"We're going to get hammered again tonight," forecaster Diana Henderson said.

The rain will start in the North Bay and move its way south through the Peninsula this afternoon and evening, she said.

Rain is expected to be heavy at times through Friday, with some strong winds, although the winds won't be as powerful as they were on Wednesday, when gusts of about 50 mph were recorded in the North Bay hills. Instead, it will be breezy with winds of up to 20 mph, Henderson said.

Three to 6 inches of rainfall is expected in the North Bay by the end of the day Friday, and 1 to 2 inches is forecast along the Peninsula.

Already by Thursday morning, some road hazards were being reported, such as a downed tree in Woodside on Old LaHonda Road just east of Skyline Boulevard. Some residents were prevented from returning to their homes via Old LaHonda and were forced to use alternate back routes.

In Burlingame, a severe weather alert has been issued for Thursday through Sunday. A County alert warned that those who work, live, or travel through Burlingame through the weekend can expect three storms with high rain fall of roughly six inches and gusts of wind up to 35-40 mph.

The Town of Atherton also issued a community bulletin, saying it had put its public works contractors on "heightened alert" for the weekend. The Town said it cleaned all sewer drains and inlets ahead of time in preparation for the series of storms, and said sandbags are available for residents.

Many Peninsula cities are offering sandbags free of charge to residents and merchants who fear flooding, such as Palo Alto, Redwood City and Belmont. The City of South San Francisco has sandbags available for residents at its Public Works building, 555 N. Canal St. The City of Burlingame said sand bags will be available to citizens free of charge on California Drive, and Burlingame and Rhinette avenues. The City of Foster City has sandbags available for residents and merchants seven days a week at City Hall, 610 Foster City Blvd.

In San Carlos, sand, bags and a shovel are available on a self-serve basis for San Carlos residents and businesses at the City Corporation Yard at 1000 Bransten Road, between Industrial and Old County roads. Bags are limited to 10 per resident.  The Corporation Yard parking lot is open 24/7.

On the coast, free sandbags are available for Half Moon Bay residents and merchants at the Train Depot, 110 Higgins Canyon Road. In Pacifica, they are available 24/7 at Linda Mar Fire, 1100 Linda Mar Blvd.; and at the Public Works Department, 155 Milagra Dr., Mondays through Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Closed Saturdays and Sundays.

"Expect power outages. Be prepared with flashlights," Thursday's county alert cautioned. "During these times, the call volume in emergency centers is very high - so please be aware that you should use 9-1-1 only in an emergency."

As far as the rest of the Peninsula, more showers and wind are expected Saturday and Sunday, with intermittent dry periods.

There is a slight chance of thunderstorms as well, Henderson said. Henderson advised using caution while driving on highways, where accumulated oil means slick roads in wet weather.

"It just gets nasty out there," she said.

After the weekend, the area should dry out, according to Henderson.

However, Redwood City's Downtown Business Group says, its treasured annual Hometown Holidays Festival will take place, rain or shine this Saturday. Fake snow, Santa Claus, carnival rides, the City tree lighting and fireworks are all expected to take place regardless of rain. Read Patch's preview of the event with all the details here.

Patch will continue to update this story throughout the weekend, so check back frequently!

- Bay City News contributed to this report