Storm hammers East Bay, forcing outdoor event cancellations
As intense storms continue hitting our region, the East Bay was getting drenched with rain on Friday.
In Berkeley, Sharetea manager Daniel Marroquin said the bad weather has been good for business over the past few days, with customers opting for more hot tea options.
"They stay inside, get the hot drink. They stay warm a bit, and then they leave," Marroquin said.
The bad weather was not making everyone's jobs better though.
Outside the tea shop, we ran into FedEx worker Michaelangelo Rosales.
Rosales said the rain can destroy many of the packages he's delivering.
"It soils the packages inside. So, we have to bring the packages back and then bring a new batch," he said.
On the campus of UC Berkeley, this weekend is one of the biggest football games of the year.
The school's team is set to play archrival Stanford on Saturday for their annual "Big Game."
The game is expected to attract fans from all across the country.
"Well, my parents went to Cal. I got some other siblings. They went to the farm down there, the junior university. The rivalry, it's fun. It's fun. We always dig on each other on that," said Walter Birmbaum.
Birmbaum is an alumnus and said he and his family came up from San Diego early to attend a planned pep rally Friday outside Sproul Hall.
"We're ready. We have our ponchos, so we're ready for the atmospheric river or whatever they call it these days. So, we're good," he said.
That rally was ultimately canceled as the rain continued to pour down.
Despite the setback, several students say they don't expect it to kill the energy on campus or diminish turnout for the big game.
That includes Isaac Davis and his classmates, who were selling game shirts outside of the hall Friday afternoon.
"It's about the camaraderie. Berkeley, I think rain or shine, we're going to show up. It's one of the biggest games of the year. You know, fight the trees, go Bears," Davis said.
