Incoming Storm Expected to Drop Up to 3 Inches of Rain in Parts of Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A late fall storm is expected to hit the Bay Area with rain and heavy winds Sunday and continue into the evening, according to the National Weather Service.
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The storm is expected to drop its heaviest rainfall in the North Bay mountains, with up to 3 inches expected and between 1.25 and 1.75 inches expected to fall in the North Bay valleys, Santa Cruz mountains and Santa Lucia mountains.
Around one-half to 1 inch of rain is expected to fall in urban and other valley areas and a slight chance of thunderstorms is expected in the late afternoon or evening.
Winds will vary in the region from 10 to 20 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph expected on the San Mateo and Sonoma coasts.
A high surf warning has also been issued for the entire coast of the Bay Area through Monday, and a small craft advisory is also issued for Point Arena to Point Piedras Blancas through Friday night.
People are being told to stay off beaches, coastal rocks and away from ocean marinas and breakwaters, according to the National Weather Service.
What the weather service describes as "energetic" waves will build through the day Sunday, peaking Sunday night into Monday morning. Waves will begin to gradually subside late Monday night into Tuesday, the weather service said in a statement Saturday night. These waves are expected to create breakers often reaching between 25 and 40 feet, with occasional swells resulting in 50-foot-high breakers.
The larger the waves, the farther inland they will go, making what are normally safe beaches potentially dangerous into Monday. Not only will the forceful waves come farther onto land - and potentially pull people back into the ocean -- but big wave can also toss logs and other debris onto the beaches, the weather service says.
The high surf warning has prompted the organizers of the Mavericks Surf Competition to say the event will not be held Monday, but could still happen later in the week.
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