Tornado Warning Expires, Storm Slows Down Over the Bay

Update 12:36 pm: More than 2,000 PG&E customers in the Bay Area are without power this afternoon due to three separate outages around the region, a utility
spokeswoman said. There are no reports of outages in Foster City at this time.

The biggest outage is in the area of San Francisco's ParkMerced, where more than 1,500 customers are without power, according to PG&E. In San Rafael, a tree fell onto power lines at about 8:50 a.m., knocking out power to about 250 customers in the northeast part of the city, Romans said.

Earlier this morning, a funnel cloud actually did touch down in the North Bay, demolishing a structure at a landscaping business in west Santa Rosa, according to reports.

Sue Minnigerode, owner of the Sequoia Landscaping Materials, said she looked outside when she heard the wind howling around 9:45 a.m. and saw pieces of her 100-foot-long metal-framed shed fly onto nearby Pacific Avenue. Debris from the shed landed in nearby power lines and on properties three houses away, she said.

Rain is expected to continue this afternoon and tonight, with some thunderstorms expected to produce small hail. South winds will continue with gusts to around 45 mph and lows in the 40s.

Rain is likely for Saturday, with highs in the lower 50s.

Update, 11:41 am: A tornado warning for San Mateo County issued by the National Weather Service expired at 11:30 a.m. with no report of damage, a
meteorologist with the weather service said late this morning.

Winds of 30 to 40 mph, a downpour of rain, and pea-sized hail were reported, but not a tornado, meteorologist Steve Anderson said.

The heavy part of the storm has passed through the Peninsula, and "once it got over the Bay, it decreased in intensity rapidly," he said.

Update, 11:12 am: The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for Foster City and the rest of San Mateo County from  11:02 am to 11:30 am.

A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado near Half Moon Bay, 15 miles west of Foster City, is moving northeast at 30 mph. The warning is for the cities of San Mateo, San Carlos, Redwood City, Millbrae, Foster City, Burlingame, Belmont, Hillsborough and Half Moon Bay, according to the weather service.

If you are outdoors, seek shelter. In case of a tornado, the safest areas of a structure are in a basement away from the west and south walls.  You can protect yourself from falling debris or structure damage by hiding under a heavy deask, work table or under the stairs.

Bay City News contributed to this report.