Storm Door Swings Open Overnight

After quiet weather for most of the Thanksgiving holiday, a series of storms are brewing and expected to hit the Bay Area this week...

Storm No. 1 arrives early Wednesday morning. This will be heavy on the winds and moderate on the rain. This is a Bay Area wide system that will hit the entire region. It arrives before sunrise with the strongest wind and rain hitting between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Rain totals will be between .25 to 1.25 inch. The highest totals will be over the North Bay valleys. Rain will linger into the afternoon. Widespread Bay Area wind gusts of up to 50 mph could also bring down trees and create power outages.

Storm No. 2 will arrive Thursday and will last into Friday. It is a traditional north to south weather system with rain starting north of the Golden Gate and moving south. This system has more moisture content with as much as five inches of rain falling the North Bay. The current model projections have the flooding risk the highest on Friday. Local creeks, small rivers and streams will be at the greatest risk for quick rising water. Large Bay Area rivers could rise as much as 3 to 10 feet. There are no flood stages expected at this time. You can moniter conditions here.

Storm No. 3 is still developing, but has the potenital for even more moisture with periods of heavy rains on Saturday that could linger into Sunday. The first break in the weather will be next Monday.

The storms will also bring high surf along the coast. Probably not enough for the Mavericks surf contest to be called, but that is a possibility so stay tuned.

PG&E Tips to Prepare for Power Outages:
• Have battery-operated flashlights and radios with fresh batteries ready. Listen for updates on storm conditions and power outages.
• If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work (such as a cordless phone or answering machine), plan for alternate communication - have a standard telephone handset, cellular telephone or pager ready as a back up.
• Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer during an outage to prevent foods from spoiling.

Safety Tips
• Treat all downed power lines as if they are "live" or energized. Keep yourself and others away from them. Call 911, then notify PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
• Use battery-operated flashlights, not candles.
• Customers with generator should make sure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to our crews.
• Unplug or turn off all electric appliances to avoid overloading circuits and fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal. Report a Power Outage: 1-800-743-5002
• Before calling PG&E about a power outage, check to see if other neighbors are affected. This would confirm if an outage has occurred in just your residence or within the neighborhood area.
• If only your residence is without power, check circuit breakers and/or fuse boxes to see if the problem is limited to the home electric system.
• After performing the steps above, single or neighborhood outages can be reported to: PG&E's 24-Hour Emergency and Customer Service Line: 1-800-743-5002.
• Once your outage has been reported, you can call PG&E's Outage Information Line at 1-800-743-5002 to get a status report on your outage and the anticipated time your power will be turned back on.

[link to www.nbcbayarea.com]