Live updates: Tracking the Bay Area Christmas storm

Bay Area saturated by rain as stronger round moves in overnight

The Bay Area was saturated with rain Wednesday night, with a brief reprieve around 10 or 11 p.m. before another, stronger round moves onshore overnight.

OAKLAND, Calif. - Rain fell in the Bay Area early Wednesday morning, causing trees to fall up north and streets to flood in Menlo Park, and half an inch of rain to fall in Los Gatos.

By lunch, there was a lull in the storm.

But the wet weather and winds were expected to pick up on Christmas Eve and last through Christmas Day.

9 p.m.

PG&E storm-related outages increased slightly around the Bay Area with 19,000 customers in the dark.

The numbers

San Francisco: 1,521 customers
Peninsula: 1,625 customers
North Bay: 6,569 customers
South Bay: 9.518 customers
East Bay: 86 customers

8:56 p.m.

The California Highway Patrol Santa Cruz division reported that the right lane of Highway 17, north of Hermon Road, was closed due to a fallen tree.

8:47 p.m.

Rain band passing through the San Pablo Bay and into the North Bay. Rain is also widespread around the East Bay.

8:30 p.m.

Meteorologists warned that the showers seen from midday into the evening were only the opening act of the latest storm moving across the region, with the main system arriving later tonight and into Christmas.

8 p.m.

A high wind warning goes into effect for the Pacific coastline and San Francisco through 10 a.m. Thursday, with southerly winds up to 40 mph and gusts up to 65 mph possible. A wind advisory goes in effect for the rest of the Bay Area through 10 a.m. Thursday, with southerly winds up to 35 mph and gusts up to 55 mph.

Snow blankets Sierra, and more coming

Residents and visitors in the Sierra spent time on Wednesday enjoying a winter wonderland as snow fell across the mountain range.

7:22 p.m.

Sonoma, Novato, American Canyon, Vallejo and Napa are experiencing pockets of heavy rain and lightning strikes just off the east edge of St. Helena. Flooding is possible through tonight and into Thursday.

In the Sierra, snow continued to pile up, with the region expected to receive an additional 3 to 4 feet of snow through Sunday.

7:04 a.m.

A storm-related electrical issue has closed two bores of the Caldecott Tunnel on state Highway 24, Caltrans said. Eastbound bore 1 and westbound bore 3 were closed as of 7 p.m. Bore 2 westbound and bore 4 eastbound are still open, according to Caltrans. It's unclear when the issue will be resolved.

7 p.m.

The latest power outage numbers from PG&E show nearly 17,000 PG&E customers in the dark.

The numbers

San Francisco: 158 customers
Peninsula: 1,807 customers
North Bay: 11,807 customers
South Bay: 2,674 customers
East Bay: 364 customers

Christmas Eve storm pushes into Bay Area

KTVU meteorologist Rosemary Orozco said another storm system pushing into the Bay Area brought scattered showers late Wednesday afternoon, with activity forecast to ramp up in the evening and overnight hours.

6:16p.m.

Moderate to heavy rain over sections of the North Bay, the coastal range and into Mill Valley. San Francisco is receiving some heavy downpour.

6 p.m.

The storm began moving onshore Wednesday, bringing severe thunderstorm activity off the coast. The National Weather Service issued an advisory for small craft along the coastline until 6:15 p.m. Thunder and lightning were reported along the San Mateo County coast as the storm moved inland.

5:15 p.m.

The National Weather Service issues a special weather statement for San Jose, Fremont, and Sunnyvale until 5:45 p.m. for hail and 50 mph winds.

PG&E says current storm-related outage totals around the Bay Area continue to go down.

The numbers

North Bay: 12,048 customers
Peninsula: 2,396 customers
South Bay: 1,402 customers
East Bay: 39 customers
San Francisco: 3 customers

4:50 p.m.

Strong winds and heavy rain are forecast to begin at 8 p.m. and increase overnight with the possibility of thunderstorms. The passing showers will continue into Christmas morning.

4:21 p.m.

KTVU meteorologist Rosemary Orozco reported scattered showers over Mount Diablo, Dillon Beach, Stinson Beach, Guerneville, Petaluma, Point Reyes, and Santa Rosa. Rainfall also moved into the Peninsula, affecting Burlingame, San Mateo, and Belmont, as well as Half Moon Bay.

Sierra snow and travel warnings: Snow levels in the Sierra are dropping to 4,500 feet, with snowfall reported over Lake Tahoe. A winter storm advisory is in effect for El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, and Sierra counties until 10 p.m. Friday. Forecasters expect near whiteout conditions and advise against travel to the greater Tahoe area.

Flood watch in effect: A flood watch remains in place until 10 p.m. Friday for Marin, Napa, and Sonoma counties as heavy rain is projected to saturate the North Bay.

Powerful holiday storm lashes Southern California, brings mudslides

A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rains and gusty winds bringing mudslides and debris flows to the southern region that has led to some water rescues and evacuation orders.

4 p.m.

PG&E says current storm-related outage totals around the Bay Area have decreased.

The numbers

North Bay: 13,511 customers
Peninsula: 3,395 customers
South Bay: 1,836 customers
East Bay: 87 customers
San Francisco: 5 customers

2 p.m.

PG&E says Sonoma is among the counties most impacted by storm-related power outages in their coverage areas. The utility also said it has fully restored electricity to 16,500 customers following an outage due to equipment failure and a fire at the Saratoga substation.

Rain causes downed trees, utility poles to fall in North Bay

A tree fell on a house in Guerneville and a utility pole fell down in Bodega Bay. The power went out in Forestville.

1:30 p.m.

PG&E says 24,000 customers around the Bay Area are without power as another storm system heads towards the region Wednesday night and peaking Thursday morning.

The numbers

San Francisco- 5 customers impacted
Peninsula- 4,169 customers impacted
North Bay- 17,263 customers impacted
East Bay - 133 customers impacted
South Bay - 2,643 impacted

Noon

Lull in the storm.

11:23 a.m.

Gov. Newsom issued a state of emergency for the California storms.

4:20 a.m.

Streets were flooded with rising water early Wednesday morning in Menlo Park, prompting police and fire crews to knock on doors, warning residents of possible evacuations in a neighborhood near the Meta campus.