Storm system brings first round of rain to Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO -- Rain began to arrive overnight across the Bay Area as storm system off the coast brought the potential for a record amount of precipitation over the next couple of days.

A low-pressure system spun out of Typhoon Merbok moved down the Northern California coast late Saturday night, bringing a bout of rare September rain.

A wind advisory also went into effect at 6 a.m. Sunday morning for the coast and coastal hills for southerly wind gusts to 45 mph.

According to the National Weather Service's Bay Area office, rain amounts overnight ranged from a few hundredths across Marin and southern Napa Valley to 0.25 on average Sonoma valleys. The area seeing the highest amounts rain by early Sunday was northwest Sonoma, with parts of the region getting from 0.50-0.68 of an inch.  

"The forecast remain on track and more rain bands will continue to rotate across the region this afternoon into tonight," the weather service said. "We' ve noted some lightning strikes offshore in the core of the upper low so the current slight chance of thunderstorms remains valid as the core of the low gets closer and combines with peak daytime heating."

By Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., early rain totals showed several locations in northern Sonoma County well over the two-inch mark for precipitation with Cazadero getting 2.09 inches and Oak Ridge getting 2.28 inches. Ben Lomond in the Santa Cruz Mountains got the highest total outside of Sonoma County at .92 inches and Mount Tamalpais in Marin County got .56 inches.

Bodega Bay received just over a half an inch, while Big Sur got .71 inches of rain, while most of the Bay Area received between .1 and .4 inches. More showers and isolated thunderstorms are forecast into the evening.

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Any significant rainfall will likely threaten records for the month. September is usually one of the driest months of the year, so the arriving storm is surprising for the drought-parched region.

But unless the showers pick up significantly before midnight, the San Francisco record for the 18th will remain standing. The record daily rainfall for downtown San Francisco was set on Sept 18, 1959 with 2.01 inches of rain. The Giants/Dodgers were rained out that day and played a double header on the 19th.

"September is climatologically the third driest month of the year, thus forecast rain amounts on the order of a few tenths of an inch to 1 inch (locally 1-2 inches hills/mtns) compared to the 30-year Sept normals may easily reach 800% of normal in a lot of areas to near 1,000% in the North Bay," the weather service said.

The inclement weather was impacting San Francisco Bay ferry service, with cancellations reducing the number of trips being made. Riders should follow the SF Bay Ferry Alerts Twitter account for announcements.

Daytime highs will be in the 60s and 70s throughout the region. Overnight lows will range mostly in the 50s. While most of the rain is expected Sunday, scattered showers will likely persist through Monday.

Sunday night calls for rain and lows in the low 60s.

The remnants of Typhoon Merbok swept north through the Bering Strait on Saturday, causing widespread flooding in several western Alaska coastal communities, knocking out power and sending residents fleeing for higher ground.

The force of the water moved some homes off their foundations, and one house in Nome floated down a river until it got caught at a bridge.

In Alaska, no injuries or deaths were immediately reported, said Jeremy Zidek, spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Officials had warned some places could see their worst flooding in 50 years and that the high waters could take up to 14 hours to recede.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration during the day.

The nearly 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) storm front has damaged roads and potentially other infrastructure, Dunleavy said at a Saturday evening news conference. Officials will evaluate any effects on water and sewer systems, seawalls, fuel storage areas, airports, and ports.

Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives were already in Alaska before the storm, and Dunleavy said they will stay to help assess damage.

"Our goal is to get the assessments done as soon as possible," he said. "We're going to move as quickly as we can to provide relief, provide recovery, provide the essentials that people need."

Among the hardest hit communities was Golovin, a village of 170 or so residents who mostly sought shelter at a school or in three buildings on a hillside. Winds in the village gusted over 60 mph (95 kph) and the water rose 11 feet (3.3 meters) above the normal high tide line and was expected to rise another 2 feet (60 centimeters) Saturday before cresting.

"Most of the lower part of the community is all flooded with structures and buildings inundated," said Ed Plumb, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.

Clarabelle Lewis, the facility manager for the tribal government, the Chinik Eskimo Community, was among those who sought refuge on the hill overlooking Golovin. She and others were riding out the storm in the tribal office after securing items at their homes from the high winds and helping neighbors do the same.

"The winds were howling; it was noisy," she said.

Most communities experienced wind gusts ranging from 41 mph (66 kph) to 67 mph (108 kph), but Cape Romanzof had peak winds of 91 mph (146 kph), the weather service said.

Lewis has never experienced a storm like this in 20 years living in Golovin.

"We've had flooding in the past a few times, but it was never this severe," she said. "We've never had homes moved from their foundations."

There were also reports of flooding in Hooper Bay, St. Michael's, Unalakleet and Shaktoolik, where waves crashed over the berm in front of the community, Plumb said.

In Hooper Bay, more than 250 people took shelter inside the school, Bethel public radio station KYUK reported. The village is one of the largest along the coast with nearly 1,400 residents.

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