All at once or not at all for rain in California

SAN FRANCISCO - Northern California was lashed by a second wet and windy storm with the potential to take down trees and power lines on Sunday, days after a similar system moved through the region.

Thunderstorms and wind gusts of 45 miles per hour were forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area, where the storm was expected to drop as much as 3 inches of rain in coastal hills before moving out Monday afternoon.

For three days, San Francisco has faced downpours and gale-force winds, keeping utility crews busy with downed trees and power lines, reports CBS News correspondent Carter Evans.

Since the storms first hit, more than 300,000 homes and businesses were hit by outages. Nearly all have had their power restored.

Nearly 60 flights had been canceled at San Francisco International Airport as of around 9 a.m., and inbound flights were experiencing delays of up to 60 minutes, Airport Duty Manager Brian Horne said. "It appears it's somewhat similar to Friday in terms of the numbers," he said.

Friday's storm led to the cancellation of 175 flights at the airport and delays of up to 90 minutes. It also knocked out power to more than 90,000 people in the Bay Area, almost all of whom had their power restored by Sunday morning. The storm dropped about three-quarters of an inch of rain on San Francisco - a welcome change after six dry weeks.

It was far from a drought-buster, however, particularly as it stayed warm and didn't bring much snow to the Sierra. Snow is more important than rain because snowpack supplies about a third of the water needed by residents, agriculture and industry.

The storm dropped between 10 to 15 inches of snow at higher elevations of the Northern Sierra, according to the National Weather Service. Sunday's storm system was also expected to be warm, bringing as much as another 14 inches of snow.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said it had brought in crews from Oregon, Washington and Arizona to prepare for the storm.

While Northern California is bearing the brunt of this storm, three states have felt the deluge.

Floodwaters are now receding in Brinnon, Washington, where seven inches of rain left behind a soggy mess.

Rain is still falling in Ashland, Oregon, which has seen nearly four inches since friday.