Strong Storm Expected in Bay Area Wednesday and Thursday

Monday, Dec 8, 2014 • Updated at 6:22 PM PST

The Bay Area can expect heavy rain and strong winds that could uproot trees, down power lines and cause flooding and mudslides due to a strong weather system starting late Wednesday and continuing through Thursday, National Weather Service officials said.

The North Bay and the Santa Cruz Mountains can expect the heaviest rainfall.

• Today's Forecast

The weather service reports that the North Bay may receive 3 to 5.5 inches of rain. The Santa Cruz Mountains can expect 2.5 to 5 inches.

The immediate area surrounding San Francisco Bay can expect 1.5 to 3 inches of rain. Inland areas and the Monterey Bay area can expect 1 to 2 inches of rain, with the Santa Lucia Mountains expecting 2 to 4 inches.

Weather service officials are predicting strong winds will begin late Wednesday and last through Thursday night. Winds are expected to reach 20 to 35 mph from the south with gusts of up to 50 mph expected along the coast and mountain ridges.

Wind gusts in excess of 70 mph are not out of the question.

We're watching two weather systems, one weaker and the other potentially much stronger and wetter arriving by midweek. For Sunday we'll see areas of dense fog to start and increasing clouds to finish the day. Some rain is possible especially north of San Francisco and peninsula locations later in the day. As this system lifts to our northeast, showers will continue into Monday mainly to the north of San Jose then trending drier into Tuesday.Stay tuned for a potentially heavy rain and wind event developing Wednesday in the North Bay and spreading southward across the rest of the Bay Area on Thursday. (Published Saturday, Dec 6, 2014)

This monster storm will likely provide rainfall totals that have not been seen in San Francisco in over a decade.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Strong-Storm-Expected-in-Bay-Area-Wednesday-and-Thursday-285036001.html