<p>Just talked with my folks and they told me 70,000 people are without power including themselves in the SF Bay Area. Happy New Years! I hope it will be better than the last with the myriad of natural disasters.</p>
<p>We never lost power, but many streets are flooded. The water on our front walk is about 4" deep. Our house is on the high end of our short street. Several creeks have overflowed. I shut down the computer for a while because I was afraid of a power failure.</p>
<p>We are fine in San Francisco, but man the wind was awful last night, felt like we were on a ship out at sea</p>
<p>Now the sun is out and I have drive across the Golden Gate Bridge…guess there are worse things</p>
<p>Hope my neighbors to the north-Marin, Napa, Sonoma are all okay</p>
<p>Flood lever is already breached and its supposed to hit the highest points about now</p>
<p>Take Care</p>
<p>Waiting for more rain tonight and tomorrow. We are outside any flood area - yes even in our little suburb the 100-year flood plain some times does just that.</p>
<p>Winds were very high last night, but still, compared to typhoons and hurricanes I’m sure it was nothing…At least the big Monterey pine in my back yard is still standing.</p>
<p>At 8 a.m. this morning, Las Trampas Creek (in Walnut Creek) in my backyard was as high as I’ve ever seen it, and we’ve lived in this house for 18 years. The good news is that we’re getting a break for a few hours this afternoon. All we need is an hour, or so, for the creek to recede to normal levels. The rain tapered off around Eleven this morning, giving us a look at 20 feet of embankment on our neighbor’s side across the creek that had been stripped clean of natural vegetation. He’s getting it worse on his side, and the water will spread out in his direction if the soil is washed away. </p>
<p>The top of the embankment is less than 35 feet from the sliding glass door of my bedroom. These days, a builder would not be able to build up so close to a creek. The water was 15 to 20 feet from the top, this morning. Pretty dramatic stuff. Every inch of the back yard is covered with heavy-guage plastic sheeting, so we’re ready for Round Two, which is supposed to blow in tonight.</p>
<p>No worries, here! 
Our big trees were professionally pruned two years ago, and we’re on a flat lot with lots of natural vegetation holding everything together. The property hasn’t changed significantly since the Thirties when it was being used as an orchard. Before that, it was part of the trail used by ranchers to drive their cattle to market in Martinez. The creek hasn’t changed much in all of those years. It’s a very stable waterway.</p>
<p>We still have power, but we’re prepared if we lose it tonight. I-80, the main vein up to Sacto and Tahoe, is flooded in the S/W direction (coming back toward the Bay Area). Amazing footage on the local news. I have not seen that happen since I moved to NoCal 30 years ago. I’m glad that we decided not to head up to the mountains over Christmas, as we usually do. We always come back on New Year’s Eve! </p>
<p>Stay safe and dry, everybody, and Happy New Year! :)</p>
<p>Had a role reversal with the kid last night. We got home around 1 am, practically hydroplaning on the freeway, after dinner with friends, and dashed for the front door in the downpour, arms full of packages. I came downstairs this morning to find our keys atop a note from my son, who came in around 3:30 am: “You left your keys in the front door last night. Too much wine with dinner?” He signed it with a smiley face. :)</p>
<p>Good luck to all. I’m hearing that the amount of rain is, ah, challenging.</p>
<p>A bit of hail today in the South Bay. We’ll live :D. Happy New Year!</p>
<p>Some minor drizzling here in the East Bay (Contra Costa County). My city hasn’t been hit very hard at all, but I hear over in Napa/Sonoma and Marin County are getting hit pretty hard.</p>
<p>We’ve experienced heavy rain every night, however. Kept me up practically all night last night. There was even a thunderstorm a few days ago.</p>
<p>My relatives are over at my house right now and we’re expecting that they might have some difficulties getting back home tonight.</p>
<p>Sac, too funny about the keys in the door and your S’s note! Made me smile. :)</p>
<p>Luckily it stopped raining intime for the fireworks at the embarcadero!</p>
<p>We arrived home from our cross-country holiday travels last night around 9:30pm, our flight landing at SJC about an hour later than scheduled. We took a different route than I’d ever taken before to a landing; my older S and I were convinced the pilots forgot and were headed to SFO instead, until we made a sweeping clockwise circle over the Bay and came in to SJC from the north.</p>
<p>We got home to minor destruction in our yard, where a tree had snapped in half and fallen across our side yard. We had no power in the yard (we have a pool and the pool equipment and lights aren’t working), no phone service (but we do have cell phones; the first appointment for repair is next <em>Friday</em>), and our DSL line didn’t work (but luckily recycling the router fixed that one). We do not appear to have lost power, and the 8-year-old pleco that’s still swimming lonely in our ex-fishtank was hanging in there, sucking the glass wall of the tank.</p>
<p>Today things seem to be winding down here: San Jose is in between yesterday’s two worst storm systems. I’m really glad we didn’t decide to fly home on Sat. instead.</p>
<p>S is supposed to head to Tahoe for skiing on Fri. – anyone know if they got a dump of snow or if it was all rain up there, too?</p>
<p>I live in the Bay Area and was powerless for New Years…still had a good time though:) Amish style…</p>
<p>Well. FINALLY, me kids have ventured into the fresh air, wusses that we are in even the least inclement weather</p>
<p>Me, I have to walk the three border collies in whatever is out there, in my new water suit thing my dear H so sweetly got me for Christmas with the matching rain boots for my treks with the dogs</p>
<p>Well, can we say pratical?</p>
<p>mootmom, I hear from my brother, a part-time snowboard instructor at Northstar that they FINALLY got snow today. Up until then it has been rain rain rain and no fun. I don’t know what the 6 day forecast is but as of today things are apparently looking a bit better.</p>