Storm topples trees, causes accidents in Bay Area

NOVATO, Calif. (KGO) -- Round two of this weekend's storms packed a big punch Sunday all across the Bay Area, causing accidents and toppling trees.

TRACK THE RAIN: Street level interactive map

The storm did a number on the Rome's family backyard. Saturated ground likely caused a giant Bay tree to fall right on top of their backyard gazebo.

Tree crews now have a big job cleaning up all of the mess left by the storm.

PHOTOS: Storm moves into Bay Area

Clarice Rome always thought an 80-foot Bay tree in her backyard would stand forever, but the tree toppled early Sunday morning taking out her backyard gazebo and missing her roofline by inches. Luckily nobody was hurt. "Very good that nobody was home, in the backyard at that time because you never know, I mean they don't give you a warning like hello, 'I'm going to come down,"' he said.

Novato building inspectors have green tagged Clarice's home. Her family can stay, but must keep away from the back windows.

Clarice said she can't go into parts of her house. "They told us to stay out in just in case the tree does come thru.

The CHP says wet roads may have caused a gas tanker to overturn on Highway 1 near Jenner Sunday morning, spilling 4,000 gallons of gas into a culvert which drains to the ocean. Hazmat crews were on scene trying to clean it up.

In South San Francisco, a car wreck snarled traffic on southbound Highway 101 near Oyster Point Boulevard when a taxi and a car collided after a possible spin out. No injuries were reported. "I was just sitting in my living room and all of the sudden I saw that big tree coming down, kind of not too fast, Richard Fritz said.

Fritz got a shock when a 30-foot tree tumbled in Menlo Park right across Menlo Oaks Drive, luckily missing passing cars.

In San Francisco, heavy rain caused lots of street flooding along the Embarcadero.

And in the East Bay, saturated soil gave way and a tree toppled onto a car, damaging two cars along Reagle Road in the Berkeley Hills.

Umbrellas put to good use by people like Darryl and Heidi Arnold who are visiting from Ohio. "It's wet but it's warmer, it sure beats being in the snow," Darryl said.

But in the midst of a drought, the Bay Area needs every drop.

A High Wind Advisory is in effect through Sunday at 10 p.m.

The storms are also bringing some much needed snow to the Sierra. Video from Tahoe TV, the Heavenly Mountain Resort camera, showed some flurries there on Saturday. The snow level dropped lower than expected. More than eight inches fell overnight, and up to 18 inches could fall by the end of the week.

California's insurance commissioner is urging people to check their insurance and do a home inventory. Most policies don't cover flooding, but will cover damage from falling trees or wind. For more information on what may be covered, click here.

To check out the latest power outage numbers from PG&E, click here.

We want to remind you that it's easy to track the storm on Live Doppler 7 HD anytime! Click here to download the ABC7 Weather App for free on Apple's App Store or Google Play.