Gusty winds are expected to die down significantly early today
Wind advisory remains in effect
Strong, swirling winds continued to knock over outdoor furniture, rattle windows and disrupt power and transportation service Wednesday morning throughout the Bay Area.
Calmer air was on the horizon, National Weather Service forecasters said. It’s just taking its sweet time getting here.
“It’s still gonna be quite breezy (Wednesday night),” NWS meteorologist Sarah McCorkle said. “The winds will be starting to really die down early (Thursday) morning.”
A high-wind advisory remained in effect through 9 p.m. Wednesday, and gusts of winds higher than 70 mph were possible in elevations over 2,500 feet, according
to the weather service. Wind gusts between 45 and 60 mph were possible below 1,000 feet.
The winds were responsible for a major delay on BART after a tree branch fell onto a train between the 24th Street Mission and Daly City stations.
Power outages also dotted the Bay Area throughout Wednesday, though only a handful affected more than 50 customers at a time, according to PG&E. Some customers in San Jose, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, Concord, Antioch, Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley and Oakland were without power at 3 p.m., the utility company said.
Temperatures also remained chilly throughout the region. Concord and Brentwood dipped to 39 degrees overnight, and San Jose was 41 and Oakland fell to 43. Half Moon Bay dipped to 33 degrees
on Tuesday, tying the city’s 73-year-old record for the lowest temperature for the day.
The recent cold and offshore winds have resulted from a ridge of strong high pressure off the coast mixing with a low-pressure system migrating north. That system is expected to remain relatively intact, though the ridge will weaken somewhat and cause the winds to soften, McCorkle said.
She added that forecasters were unsure how long the pattern will remain, but it is not doing the dry conditions any favors. Less than an inch of rain has fallen in the region since the start of 2022.
Rain is likely at least two weeks away, if not longer, McCorkle said.
“We’re starting to see maybe a chance for it maybe in mid-February,” she said. “We’re not real superconfident in it.”