Ski 2009

Storm brings gusty winds and minor flooding
Mother Nature says goodbye to Santa and took over from there, beat the Bay Area on Tuesday with howling wind and rain, minor flooding and a sad reminder of exactly who is responsible for this time of year .

winds whipping up to 35 miles per hour blew down trees and debris thrown around the bay from San Francisco that 2-3 inches of rain fell in the wetter coastal areas of Marin and Sonoma.

Surging waves up to 20 feet high pounded the beach. Thunder and lightning shook the County of Mendocino and the northern Sacramento Valley while high winds in the Sierra ski resorts closed.

Up to 3 feet of snow blanketed the Tahoe area, according to the National Weather Service.

Although the rain was heavy and the wind is very strong at times, meteorologists, the storm was not unusual for this time of year.

"That's what I would call a moderate storm, about 6 on a scale of 10," said Jan Null, a consultant and adjunct professor of meteorology at San Francisco State University. "We have a year or two of these each. With regard to an event open sea, which is very vanilla. "

Most residents hunkered down with new gadgets, toys and directions of the Assembly to confusion and waited for the storm day after Christmas. It was somewhat annoying to those who live near streams and rivers. An urban flood advisory and small streams remained in force throughout the night.

Residents and merchants in Marin County was watching near San Anselmo Creek. The waterway flood poured over its banks during heavy rains last New Year's Eve, flooding about 500 homes and businesses. The cost of floods San Anselmo merchants millions of dollars, putting some of them into bankruptcy and others on the brink of ruin.

Sandbags were piled in areas prone to flooding Tuesday. At least 30 merchants had valves to redirect water away from their activities.

San Anselmo Councillor Barbara Thornton, who was mayor until early this month, said the city has spent the last year preparing for another flood.

"We worked hard all year with businesses and residents to try to prepare them," she said. "Last year, we could not even say" good year "to anyone because of the situation."

The National Weather Service has issued a notice to the high waves Thursday, which could be good news for surfers, but most surfboards Bay area remained at home Tuesday.

"It's a bit too stormy," said Ben Arnold, a surfer of 20 years and employed at the Northern Lights Surf Shop in Bodega Bay. "I doubt that many people are surfing at all, but I bet that up to at Maverick's, it will be good enough in the next two days. "

Skiing was not particularly pleasant in the Sierra, as gusts of wind forced the closure of many ski runs. Alpine ski resort Meadows was closed Tuesday because of strong winds.

Aimi XISTRA-Rich, the spokesman for Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe, said she expected a foot of snow this afternoon.

"The winds have forced us to move in the wind holds the highest altitude," said Rich-XISTRA. "Thursday, Friday and Saturday should be very good, so we're really looking forward to these days."

wettest storm of the season was supposed to have been more intense, but it fizzled as it headed over the Pacific Ocean to California.

Warren Blier, science officer for the National Weather Service, said the system started in the Central Pacific and was heading straight east toward the Bay area before abruptly turned north . The storm struck the northern California