Bay Area braces for more wet weather

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Showers have been falling on and off Friday in the North Bay. The rain has slowed an already sluggish rush hour commute on northbound Highway 101.

At Blackies Pasture Park in Tiburon, the intermittent rain didn't stop people from enjoying their daily walks.

The Winter family says things look a lot different compared to just a week ago.

"It is much more beautiful than it was before because it's greener. Yeah, it's fun to enjoy how the landscape changes," Anika Winter, a Tiburon resident said.

The rain started falling again in the North Bay early Friday afternoon. In San Rafael, raindrops started appearing just before 1 p.m. By mid-afternoon, the rain picked up in spots. Motorists on the frontage road along 580 experienced moderate rainfall.

No one is complaining about the weather.

"Bring on more," Lynn Ryder, a Mill Valley resident said. "We need it. We want to end this drought."

A lot of people in San Francisco were racing Friday to prepare for the next wave of storms.

In the Mission District, people living and working at Folsom and 17th streets are still cleaning up from the last storm. It was a sad sight for many businesses in that area, furniture and other goods were damaged by heavy flooding. Sandbags weren't enough to stop the waters from entering homes and stores. The area is known for having a poor drainage system.

The recent storms knocked out phone service to many customers. A Christmas tree lot on 14th and Mission streets hasn't had a working phone line since Tuesday. Without a line, Joe Hege can't process any credit cards. His business has been affected.

"I've just been taking down credit card information and letting people know that I will be processing it as soon as I have a phone working," Hege said.

Cole Hardware store in Downtown San Francisco nearly ran out of umbrellas. People took advantage of the break in the weather to buy rain-related items.

"Umbrellas, ponchos, raincoats and pretty much anything that keeps people dry and on top of that a lot of people coming in for stuff to fix leaks in their roofs," said Renato Geslani, Jr., of Cole Hardware.

The Safeway Union Square holiday ice rink has enjoyed good weather in past years. The rain tends to keep people away.

"We're telling people to come on down anyway," said Valerie Abraham, ice rink manager. "We don't close in the rain. Lots of people have lots of fun skating in the rain. Nothing has changed. We're open as usual."

Crews were also working to repair a giant sinkhole that opened up on Sixth and Lake Streets in San Francisco.

A sewer pipe burst on Wednesday causing damage to a water pipe and opening up the massive sinkhole.

Repairs likely won't be completed until Tuesday.