Storm knocks out power to more than 7,000 in Bay Area

"A storm sweeping through the San Francisco Bay Area knocked out power to more than 7,000 customers across the Peninsula and South Bay on Thursday morning, according to Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The company issued a power outage alert in San Mateo County at 8:23 a.m., initially reporting 4,107 customers affected in neighborhoods including Brentwood Park, Avalon Park and Crestmoor 2. At 9:03 a.m., the utility updated the alert to say 2,929 customers were impacted in that outage area."

"PG&E's outage map showed San Mateo County had over 3,000 people without power, while Santa Clara had over 2,100 customers in the dark. Alameda County reported over 1,500 people without power, as of 10 a.m., but that was down to 181 people at 10:50 a.m. Additional outages were reported in other Bay Area counties, including Contra Costa, Marin and San Francisco."

"PG&E attributed the outage to the ongoing storm system moving across the Bay Area. In its Thursday morning forecast discussion, the National Weather Service warned that thunderstorms "capable of producing lightning, erratic/gusty winds, locally heavy rainfall, accumulating small hail, and waterspouts" could happen as a cold front pushed inland. Along the coast and higher elevations, gusts between 40 and 50 mph were expected, with some locations briefly exceeding 60 mph. Interior areas were expected to see gusts in the 30-to-40-mph range through the afternoon."

A storm swept the San Francisco Bay Area, knocking out power to more than 7,000 customers across the Peninsula and South Bay. Pacific Gas & Electric issued outage alerts in San Mateo County with initial reports of 4,107 customers affected, later updated to 2,929, and showed over 3,000 people without power in San Mateo and over 2,100 in Santa Clara. Alameda County briefly reported more than 1,500 outages before falling to 181. Additional outages occurred in Contra Costa, Marin and San Francisco counties. The National Weather Service warned of thunderstorms capable of lightning, gusty winds, heavy rainfall, small hail and waterspouts as a cold front pushed inland, with coastal gusts up to 60 mph and interior gusts of 30–40 mph. PG&E did not provide a restoration timeline.

Read at SFGATE