The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory Tuesday for much of the Bay Area, including Alameda County, while around 700 Berkeley residents are without power in West Berkeley.
The “urban and small stream” flood advisory was issued at at 7:39 a.m. and is in place until 7:30 p.m.
Automated rainage and doppler radar indicated “excessive amounts of rainfall in the impacted areas,” the alert issued this morning read. “Runoff from heavy rainfall is expected to cause ponding or flooding on some roadways… poor drainage areas and low-lying spots,” the release continued.
The release said there had been reports of roadway flooding and rock/mud slides Tuesday morning, as well as “numerous reports of accidents due to wet roadways.”
Meanwhile, several Berkeleyside readers reported being without power in West Berkeley. According to PG&E’s outage map, 694 customers lost power at 7:37 a.m. The utility estimated it would be restored by 11 a.m. [Update: At 9:35 a.m., PG&E reported that the number of customers still affected had dropped to 149.]
Jennifer Dary is one of the Berkeley residents affected. She lives at Fifth and Delaware streets and told Berkeleyside she and her neighbors lost power at around 7:40 a.m.
Alexandra Singer said her son’s preschool at Fifth and Hearst Avenue was affected.
Gaby Hedlund reported via Twitter that traffic lights were out on Sixth Street north of University Avenue, and that there was “lots of standing water/backed-up gutters.”
There have been 1.26 inches of much-needed rain in the past 24 hours in Berkeley, according to AccuWeather.com, which forecasts more, albeit lighter, rain for Wednesday and Thursday.
Authorities advise using caution when driving in heavy rain, leaving sufficient room between cars and being alert to flooded areas.
Let us know how the weather is affecting you and what you are seeing. Send tips and photos to tips@berkeleyside.com.
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