Rain and wind hits the Bay Area
Light rain this morning immediately around San Francisco Bay will become heavier this afternoon while winds already have caused power outages and delays at San Francisco International Airport.
Along with rain that could bring up to a three-quarters of an inch to Oakland and a half an inch to San Francisco today, residents will experience strong winds throughout the afternoon.
"There could be localized heavy rain as well," National Weather Service meteorologist Sierra Brune said.
Overall, Oakland and San Francisco could both see more than an inch of rain before the weekend is over, Brune said. Winds will range from 10 to 20 mph with gusts of around 30 mph.
The weather has prompted delays already at San Francisco International Airport where 66 delays have been reported and 70 flights have been canceled.
The situation could worsen as the day progresses, airport spokesman Doug Yakel said.
Yakel is asking travelers to please check with their airlines before coming to the airport.
Thousands of electric customers have lost power this morning with as many as 11,500 in the East Bay and 3,800 on the Peninsula.
On the roads, officials with the California Highway Patrol are seeing an increase in collisions.
CHP officers are asking people to slow down and increase the distance between them and the car ahead of them.
CHP Officer John Fransen also suggested people give themselves more time to get to their destination.
Fransen said the first rain of the season is already a concern because the rain mixed with oil makes the roads slick.
The impact of rain and winds has caused a power outage, which shut down Contra Costa College classes for today and knocked out power briefly to a traffic signal in Redwood City.
A power outage near Daly City at about 8 a.m. is causing a systemwide delay on BART. At the height of the problem trains were running 30 to 60 minutes behind schedule.