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Latest Storm Causes Flight Cancellations, Outages, Flooding

BAY AREA (CBS SF) -- Heavy precipitation across the Bay Area Wednesday morning is causing flooding, power outages and flight cancellations and the rain is expected to continue throughout the day, according to the National Weather Service.

"The storm delivered very impressive rain totals since it moved onshore early this morning," said KPIX 5 Meteorologist Roberta Gonzalez. "Although the main front has sliced through the Bay Area with the heaviest rainfall, there is a lot of instability associated with the passage of the cold front. Expect more scattered showers throughout the day."

From 8 a.m. Tuesday until 8 a.m. Wednesday, Oakland received a little over an inch and Berkeley received more than half an inch. At Richmond City Hall, 1.42 inches of rain has fallen, while San Francisco has received 1.18 inches.

Santa Cruz picked up 2.59 inches in the past 24 hours.

There has been light snow at Cobb Mountain to the north (elevation 4,720) and the Santa Lucia Mountains (tallest peak 5,857 ft) to the south.

About 1,180 customers were without power in the Bay Area as of 10:40 a.m., PG&E spokeswoman Mayra Tostado said. About 340 of those were in the East Bay, 80 in the North Bay, 520 in the South Bay, 100 in San Francisco and 140 on the Peninsula.

"We've been dealing with these storms throughout the week and have our crews positioned to restore power as quickly and safely as possible," Tostado said.

Flooding was reported on various Bay Area highways and roads, including Interstate Highway 80 at Seventh Street in San Francisco and the park-and-ride lot near state Highway 1 and U.S. Highway 101 in Marin County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

There were several reports of downed trees in San Francisco and elsewhere, including Mission Street between Fourth and Fifth streets early Wednesday morning.

All San Francisco Municipal Railway cable car lines are being served by buses instead Wednesday morning because of the rainy weather, according to Muni officials.

Shortly before 2:45 p.m., the agency reported on Twitter that cable car service was back up and running.

Cable car lines also experienced a partial shutdown Monday afternoon, but that issue was caused by a mechanical problem that developed in the area of Powell and Bush streets.

The Powell/Mason and Powell/Hyde lines switched back to avoid the problem area while repairs were made.

Muni officials are warning riders to expect delays Wednesday as buses and light-rail trains operate at reduced speeds during the stormy weather.

At San Francisco International Airport, about 80 flights had been canceled as of 10 a.m., airport spokesman Doug Yakel said.

He said it's about an even mix of departures and arrivals, mostly West Coast commuter flights to places such as Portland and Los Angeles.

Delays at the airport are running at about 15 to 30 minutes, but that could increase as the day goes on, Yakel said.

Airport officials are advising travelers to call their airline before going to the airport to check the status of their flight.

No delays were reported at Oakland International Airport or Mineta San Jose International Airport.

"There is a chance of a thunderstorm at any point of the day or evening," said Gonzalez. "I have detected dozens of lightning strikes off the Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz coast. Winds continue to rotate and blow 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph."

The next storm is disorganized and weaker than the past two systems, according to Gonzalez. It will produce light to moderate rain when it arrives Thursday.

Storm #5 arrives Friday overnight with more rain extending into Saturday morning.

© Copyright 2016 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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