Roof Collapses At San Rafael Store; Storm Pelts North Bay
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The Bay Area's dry spell, which has spanned more than 150 days, came to a dramatic end Tuesday as a fall storm pelted the North Bay with showers that may have triggered a partial roof collapse at a San Rafael store.
The San Rafael Fire Department said its firefighters responded to an alarm activation and a call from the store manager Tuesday morning to the HomeGoods store located at 6000 Northgate Drive at around 7 a.m.
Arriving crews discovered a partially collapsed roof and water flooding the store. No injuries were reported and a steady rain was falling in the area at the time.
Firefighters were working with building and safety personnel to evaluate the structure. They said the collapse appeared to have been caused by the weight of standing water on the roof from the current rainy conditions.
The storm was bringing much needed relief to the parched Bay Area. The last significant rainfall San Francisco has received was 0.13 of an inch in April. It been an even longer dry spell in San Jose where it hasn't rained since April 16 -- 168 days ago.
The National Weather Service predicted that most areas could expect between 0.25 to 0.75 of an inch with isolated amounts of more than an inch in the upper elevations before the front moves on.
"Lingering showers are likely to persist into Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as the mid/upper level system shifts inland over southern California," the weather service said in a release.
The bands of showers being spun into the region by a low pressure system off shore seemed to be mostly directed at the North Bay. The weather service reported that Santa Rosa had received 1.11 inches of rain over the last 24 hours.
The totals were equally impressive at other North Bay locations by 8 a.m. -- Petaluma had 0.87 of an inch; Ross had 0.88; Novato 0.60; Lakeport 1.45 and Rohnert Park 0.81.
The California Highway Patrol reported numerous accidents during the morning commute as the showers caused hazardous driving conditions.
