SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The Bay Area was hit with another round of rain, hail and snow on Monday as a chilly winter storm moved through the region in the final days of February.
ABC7 crews are spread out across the Bay Area to show us what conditions are like where you live.
STORM TIMELINE: Cold front Monday brings rain, winds and snow with more expected Tuesday
East Bay
The snow fell fast and furiously over Mt. Diablo on Monday. Families came up to the snowy landscape to make the most of it.
“The kids made snow angels and a little snowman and threw snowballs at each other. It was a fun day and a cool experience for the kids to have,” said Jessica Giacomelli.
The conditions were treacherous up on the mountain with snow coming down. Authorities said a van had slid off the road.
Farther down the mountain, a previous landslide along the North Gate Road into the park got worse with Monday’s rain, as more of the roadway surface collapsed.
The Oakland Zoo closed down again for Monday until Tuesday as the continuous bad weather wreaks havoc on roads, morale and finances.
North Bay
In the North Bay, commuters faced wet and rainy conditions and, in some places, even hail. Santa Rosa fire said the roads in Santa Rosa’s Oakmont neighborhood got covered in hail.
“Some pretty substantial amounts of hail,” Santa Rosa District Fire Marshall Paul Lowenthal said. “It presents something that’s not just fun to look at, but that does present some safety concerns for us.”
Those concerns include downed trees and power lines. Firefighters responded just before 2 p.m. to a tree branch that fell onto a power line outside an auto shop in Santa Rosa, causing the branch to become electrified.
“We’ve seen power lines, cable lines, different lines come down because of the winds, because of the gusty conditions, because of the rain,” Lowenthal said. “It’s just been kind of a wild season so far.”
VIDEO: SKY7 flies over Bay Area snow-capped mountains, peaks
According to PG&E, nearly 10,000 customers in the North Bay were without power on Monday afternoon. The largest pocket of people without electricity was in the Larkspur/Kentfield area of Marin County.
Rafael Candelas was walking his dog, Lukas, in Santa Rosa when it started to pour.
“I think this weather is really bipolar,” Candelas exclaimed. “First, it’s snowing, then it’s raining, then it’s super hot. Come on, make up your mind!”
Peninsula
Storm-related impacts continued to affect Bay Area traffic and BART on Monday afternoon, with some roads flooded by heavy rains or closed due to snow.
El Camino Real in Palo Alto is closed in both directions due to flooding at the University Avenue underpass, police said about 12:30 p.m. Previously one lane was open in each direction.
Also in Palo Alto, Page Mill road is closed again due to snow in the road, between Moody Road and Skyline Boulevard.
VIDEO: A look at the best snow videos from rare Bay Area snowfall
South Bay
A taste of Tahoe in the South Bay. No, it wasn’t snowfall in the Santa Cruz Mountains or at Mt. Hamilton, we saw snow falling and covering the Saratoga Hills, just about 15 minutes from town. It made for one of the easiest trips to snow that people in the area have ever seen.
“I’ve been living here my whole life, I’m 22 years old and I have not seen this much snow, only up on Mt. Hamilton at the observatory,” San Jose resident Jose Arevalos said. “It looks so beautiful, it’s like Tahoe. A winter wonderland in San Jose.”
Words I don’t think any San Jose resident has said before. As temperatures dropped into the mid to lower 30s, the falling precipitation along Big Basin Way quickly turned from rain to snow.
We watched many cars without snow capabilities like four-wheel drive quickly learn driving here was a mistake. As beautiful as it was, many had to make the call to turn back for safety.
Caltrans told us that they understand that many people have never seen snow before, and having it this close makes it seem like it’s worth the trip. But the reality is: if your car is not equipped for serious weather, you should stay away.
Power Outages
Here are the number of customers impacted as of 5 p.m. on Monday, according to PG&E:
ABC7 News reporters Leslie Brinkley, Dustin Dorsey and Liz Kreutz contributed to this report.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
