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Thursday, Jan. 5, 9:30 a.m.: Power lines are reported to be down west of Brewster Ave., with the greatest impacts at Upland Rd., according to the Redwood City Police Department. An estimated 675 customers are currently without power. PG&E is actively working to restore power, a police report said.
As of 8 a.m., nearly 26,800 residents are without power along the Peninsula, PG&E spokesperson Karly Hernandez said in an email. More than 71,800 customers have been affected throughout the Bay Area.
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11:45 p.m.: The flood warning, which was in effect Wednesday evening, has expired, the National Weather Service announced.
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10:20 p.m. The National Weather Service Wednesday night issued a special weather statement for parts of San Mateo County, warning residents that landspouts are a possibility during the storm.
Landspouts are similar to tornados but are not the same. Landspouts are "land-based equivalents to waterspouts," according to a definition by NOAA.
The landspouts could affect South San Francisco, San Bruno and San Mateo.
In an unrelated message, the San Mateo County Department of Emergency Management released an alert advising the public of wind gusts of 50 miles per hour in some parts of the county.
Emergency crews around the Bay Area are also responding to dozens of downed trees and flooded roadways Wednesday night.
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9:40 p.m.: WATER DAMAGE, BUSINESSES CLOSE
Residents on social media reported power outages, water damage and continued winds throughout Redwood City.
Maria Cid Medina tweeted that her family could not “get a contractor out fast enough to my in-laws house to fix the water damage from last weekend’s rain.” In a video posted to Twitter, Medina pans the camera in a room of her home, showing what appears to be water damage to the floor and interior wall, through which water could be heard moving.
She said they were “hunkered down, hoping for the best.”
Several residents took to Twitter to report losing power. One mother, who lives near Selby Lane School, wrote: “Playing w glow sticks to entertain the kids.” Her power was restored 45 minutes later, she said, though strong winds and heavy rains continued.
"No damage so far except that tomorrow is trash day and everyone’s trash cans keep getting knocked over from the wind," she added.
Another person described experiencing less severe weather than they’d expected. “It has completely stopped raining in Redwood City,” they wrote, adding that the heavy rains only lasted a couple of hours. “It’s just wind now.”
Some local businesses have shut their doors in the wake of the storms. In San Carlos, Domenico Winery announced that it would be closed both Wednesday and Thursday. Devil's Canyon Brewing Co. will be closed until further notice because of “extreme water damage” caused by the previous storm.
The ice cream chain Humphry Slocombe tweeted that its Redwood City location had closed early on Wednesday “because it’s raining like the end of days is upon us.”
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8:54 p.m.: STANFORD RWC OPENS PARKING TO PUBLIC
Stanford University has temporarily opened the parking lot to the public at its Redwood City Campus, a spokesperson said Wednesday.
The surface parking lot at the corner of Bay Road and Broadway is available for emergency use beginning Wednesday through the weekend, said Luisa Rapport, Stanford University communications director.
The number of spaces in the parking lot is limited because the parking garage is unavailable, she added.
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6:37 p.m.: PG&E WORKING TO RESTORE POWER
As emergency crews responded to dozens of reports downed trees and flooded roads on Wednesday evening, more than 76,000 Bay Area customers were without power.
Most of the outages were on the Peninsula, where 36,114 were without power as of 5:45 p.m., according to PG&E.
The outages affected 19,874 in the North Bay; 10,532 in San Francisco, 5,396 in the East Bay and 4,416 in the South Bay, according to PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian.
Around 3,800 people in unincorporated areas of Redwood City, Woodside and Atherton along Woodside Road lost power Wednesday afternoon; some 3,400 were still in the dark around 8:30 p.m. Another 79 customers are without power near Middlefield in North Fair Oaks.
"Crews are working safely and as quickly as possible to restore customers," said PG&E spokesperson Karly Hernandez in an email. "Due to the high volume of outages, I am not able to provide an estimated time of restoration."
Around 220 residents are without power in Woodside east of Interstate 280 on Wednesday evening, not far from where a tree went down off Woodside road.
Police shut down from North Fair Oaks at El Camino Real to the Caltrain tracks around 5:30 p.m., according to a town news alert. PG&E was on scene and it is unknown when the road will reopen, according to the news alert.
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4:52 p.m.: COUNTY SECURES HOTELS
San Mateo County is bracing for a “bomb cyclone” with an expected 3-3.5 inches of rain over the next 24 hours, County Executive Officer Mike Callagy said during a public briefing Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re expecting flooding, debris flows, landslides,” he said. “The difference is the strong winds, up to 70 along the coast, which is pretty unusual.”
The county has set up a “mini call center” in the emergency operations center and has activated a 211 line. Residents can also access a dedicated webpage from any county website, which will provide storm-related information and resources. An emergency operations center, which can be reached at (650) 363-4790, has been opened and will be working around the clock through the end of the weekend.
For the first time, the county has partnered with Zonehaven. This real-time map service shows the most up-to-date information about street closures, flooding, downed trees, evacuations and other public safety notices. Residents can search any area within the county to see the latest updates.
The county has secured 160 shelter rooms in hotels throughout the region to temporarily house residents who have been displaced by flooding. One hundred and fifteen rooms are currently available.
“We have 125 people that are currently sheltered in our hotels…and we expect the number to rise,” Callagy said.
Two units at the 1903 East Bayshore Rd. park in Redwood City and three units at the Moonridge Mobile Home Park in Half Moon Bay were evacuated Sunday. The Harbor Mobile Home Park in Belmont was red-tagged, resulting in the evacuation of all residents.
An evacuation center at the College of San Mateo is being prepared in case of mass evacuations. However, the county won’t refer people to the College until hotels have reached 70% capacity.
“We don't want people just to show up to CSM because there's a preparation period that we need to make sure we have the materials and the staff necessary,” Callagy said. Evacuated residents may be sent to a temporary warming shelter to be fed and kept safe before moving into housing.
Evacuees will be able to stay in the county shelter "as there's a danger" and they have nowhere else to go. Food will also be provided, through a collaboration between the county, local nonprofits and the Red Cross.
Callagy said that many evacuees have remained at the shelters since Sunday because the county was "reluctant" to send them back home before the second story. "We don't want to have to evacuate them again," he said.
Ken Cole, director of the county Human Services Agency, warned people not to wait until the last minute to evacuate.
“In the event that people need to evacuate…they should make that decision early,” he said. “We certainly would prefer that people get to safety as soon as they can and take advantage of the resources that we have available.”
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3:49 p.m: POWER OUTAGES
Thousands of Bay Area PG&E customers were without power Wednesday afternoon as rain and high winds continued to hit the region.
At 3:42 p.m., Supervisor Warren Slocum tweeted that the wind around Redwood City had begun to pick up a bit.
Farm Hill Neighborhood Chairwoman Johanna Rasmussen said the winds in the area had begun to pick, but she had yet to see any downed lines or trees.
More than 25,000 PG&E customers were without power Wednesday afternoon as wind and rain swept through the Bay Area.
The greatest number of outages is on the Peninsula, with 16,545 customers in the dark, according to totals released by PG&E as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Another 4,898 customers were without power in the South Bay, along with 3,307 in the North Bay, 759 in the East Bay, and 95 customers in San Francisco.
Rain and heavy winds are forecast to continue in the region through Thursday.
A wind warning remains in effect for the Bay Area through Thursday at 10 a.m., with gusts as high as 70 mph possible in certain areas.
Are you experiencing an outage? Let us know.
Check the status of your outage here.
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2:37 p.m.: SCHOOL CLOSURES
The Redwood City School District has canceled classes for Thursday due to the anticipated weather conditions.
"In monitoring the weather today, looking at the forecast for this evening into tomorrow, and learning additional details from San Mateo County emergency leaders, we have decided that we would be serving our students and families best by encouraging them to stay home and avoiding getting on the roads, if possible," RCSD Superintendent John Baker said in a message to students' families and to all school district employees.
The district plans to reopen on Friday, weather permitting, he added.
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2:30 p.m.: NEWSOM DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY
California State Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency throughout the state. The emergency proclamation will allow the state to provide resources to local and county jurisdictions during the winter storm.
It will also allow the state to receive federal aid to support repairs to local highways and provide other recovery efforts.
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2:03 p.m.: COUNTY PREPARATIONS
San Mateo County is coordinating with local jurisdictions as an atmospheric river makes its way through the Bay Area.
Those preparations include securing hotel rooms for residents who may become displaced after flooding, ordering additional sandbags and deploying public works crews to help with downed trees and debris.
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11:26 a.m.: SCHOOL CLOSURES
While the Redwood City School District said it would not close doors at its 12 campuses, another school district in the county has canceled classes.
Schools in the South San Francisco Unified School District will be closed on Thursday as a major storm makes its way across the Bay Area, district officials said Wednesday.
Sequoia Union High School District campuses are closed this week due to the winter holiday. Classes resume on Jan. 10, a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, RCSD Superintendent John Baker said the district would continue to monitor the weather and let families and district employees know should there be a change of plans.
South San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Shawnterra Moore said in a statement that Wednesday is a minimum day in the district and she encouraged families to pick up their children as soon as possible to be off the roads ahead of the heavy rain expected later Wednesday.
All extracurricular activity has also been canceled Wednesday and Thursday. Moore said the decision was being made out of an abundance of caution.
Up to 3 inches of rain is forecast for the area on Wednesday with wind gusts as high as 70 mph. According to the National Weather Service, saturated soil will make the wind more dangerous as it can uproot trees and cause infrastructure damage.
"People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees and branches," the weather service said as part of its High Wind Advisory. "If possible, remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Use caution if you must drive."
Schools will reopen for classes on Friday, Moore said.
The district serves students in Daly City, South San Francisco, and San Bruno.
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10:49 a.m.: The California Highway Patrol Redwood City division and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office are encouraging motorists to stay off the roads on Wednesday.
10:19 a.m.: SANDBAGS
Redwood City Public Works Director Terence Kyaw said Wednesday the city continued to have sandbags available to residents. As inventory gets low, the city restocks, he said.
Although Kyaw said he was seeing record-breaking demands for sandbags, he said there was plenty of sand to go around.
"So far, so good," he said.
Sandbags can be picked up at the address below.
- Public Works – 1400 Broadway, Redwood City, (650) 780-7464
***** ORIGINAL STORY
As the Bay Area braces for severe weather, San Mateo County has activated its emergency operations hub and declared a local state of emergency.
Supervisor Warren Slocum said the local declaration would allow the county to qualify for some additional state money and personnel to support the storm effort.
According to a dire forecast update from the National Weather Service, Wednesday’s storm is expected to be as bad or worse than Saturday's deluge and will likely result in the loss of human life.
The county is expected to receive roughly 3.5 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. A flood watch is in effect until Friday and a high wind warning is in effect until Thursday.
On New Year's Eve, the county already dealt with significant flooding, evacuations and the closure of county parks and trails during the storm system, which dumped nearly 6 inches of rain on the county in just 24 hours.
The Redwood City School District said it did not plan to cancel classes at any of its 12 schools on Wednesday despite the severe weather. Meanwhile, the Stanford Redwood City Campus is closed, and those not required to work on campus are encouraged to work remotely.
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Tips when returning to flooded areas
Storm preparation resources for Redwood City residents from the city:
- Storm preparation tips
- San Mateo County's Alert system
- Critical evacuation updates, resources from ZoneHaven
- For those in need of shelter due to the storm, please call Fair Oaks Community Center at 650-780-7500 or visit at 2600 Middlefield Road in Redwood City. The Center is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If after 5 p.m. or on the weekend, please call 650-780-7100 (Police Dispatch) to access emergency shelter
- Sandbags are available to Redwood City residents at the Public Works Yard, 1400 Broadway
- To report locations of flooding or downed trees, please call the Public Works Department at 650-780-7464. Leave detailed information. Crews will respond to calls in priority order and address more severe issues first
- In case of emergency, always call 9-1-1
Bay City News contributed to this report. Almanac Reporter Angela Swartz contributed to this report. Pulse reporter Leah Worthington contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the street of an outage. Powerlines were down at Upland Rd. To request a correction, contact editor@rwcpulse.com.
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