Marin thrashed as ‘bomb cyclone’ storm topples trees, cuts power

A torrent of powerful winds and rain pummeled Marin on Tuesday afternoon, taking down trees throughout the county and knocking out power to hundreds of residences.

Wind gusts reached 68 mph on Wolfback Ridge in Sausalito, 58 mph near Nicasio Reservoir and 56 mph near Woodacre, said Miles Bliss of the National Weather Service.

Bliss called the storm a “bomb cyclone,” a low-pressure system spinning counterclockwise whose pressure dropped when moving across land. Peak gusts reached 10 mph higher than expected, with the highest concentration centering on the Marin Headlands.

In San Anselmo, a large tree fell on Jordan Avenue at about 4:30 p.m., damaging two neighboring houses, said Chief Jason Weber of the Ross Valley and county fire departments. No one was injured.

“This just demonstrates how saturated our soils are,” Weber said. “You put any wind on that and you see large trees coming down. We just want people to be cautious.”

Rain gauges in Novato and at Samuel P. Taylor State Park in western Marin recorded 1.22 inches of precipitation in the 24-hour period ending at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Bliss said. Other rain totals for the period included 1.1 inches in Kentfield, 0.84 inches in San Rafael, 0.8 inches on Mount Tamalpais and 0.7 inches in Sausalito.

Battalion Chief Todd Overshiner of the Marin County Fire Department said a home at 9 Sylvan Way in Woodacre was struck by a downed tree at about 2:45 p.m. He said the tree caused major damage to a bedroom at the home, which was unoccupied at the time, but no injuries were reported. Power lines also went down at the front of the property, which he described as a rental.

Overshiner said the damage would likely be “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” He said the same home had a tree fall into a septic tank during a storm a week ago.

Also in Woodacre, power lines fell into a tree at Park Street and Conifer Way, he said.

In Marin City, a tree fell into an occupied residence on 52 Buckelew St. at 4:45 p.m., Overshiner said. No injuries were reported.

Reports of fallen trees also came from Fairfax, Tiburon, Novato and Sausalito, Overshiner said.

In Sausalito, a tree fell at Bridgeway and Nevada Street at about 2:15 p.m., said Battalion Chief Doug Patterson of the Southern Marin Fire Protection District. The city reported that 1,778 meters lost power in Sausalito, Fort Baker and the Marin Headlands.

Patterson said the interchange of Highway 101 and Shoreline Highway in Mill Valley was flooded by high tides. Two vehicles and their occupants were stuck in the area. One was able to leave the area and one was rescued, Patterson said.

Patterson also reported trees and wires down on Harrison Avenue, Sausalito Avenue and San Carlos Avenue. He said a 65-foot sailboat broke free from Schoonmaker Point Marina, prompting a response by the Tiburon fire boat and the Coast Guard.

Officer Darrel Horner of the California Highway Patrol said there were several reports of highway collisions during the storm.

Winds were expected to ease during the night, and parts of the county could get another 0.1 to 0.3 inches of rain into Wednesday evening, Bliss said.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, a driver died when a tree fell onto his moving vehicle on Alpine Road in Portola Valley, according to the California Highway Patrol.

It was not immediately clear if an earlier fatal crash on Highway 17 had been caused by the weather, but trees were down “all over the place,” said Cecile Juliette, a Cal Fire spokeswoman.

At Ben Lomond, 1.81 inches fell during the 24 hours leading up to 3 p.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported. Another 1.77 inches fell at Big Basin State Park. San Jose Mineta International Airport had 0.61 inches, with 0.42 inches at Oakland International Airport, 0.46 inches in downtown San Francisco and three-quarters of an inch at the Concord Pavilion.

Wind gusts hit 78 mph in Los Gatos and atop Mt. Umunhum, while Oakland International Airport registered gusts of 74 mph. One gust atop Mt. Allison near Fremont reached 81 mph, the weather service said.

More than 100,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers lost power by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.