Live storm updates: Hwy 1 closure in Pacifica expected to last through evening commute

Rough roads up in the Sierra Sunday as this storm packs a punch. It's made for a rough drive home for people who spent the holiday weekend in the snow.

Rough roads up in the Sierra Sunday as this storm packs a punch.

Spinouts have led to on-and-off closures on 80 and 50 heading up to Tahoe.

It's made for a rough drive home for people who spent the holiday weekend in the snow.

Kevin "Coop" Cooper described how the snow was looking on this Monday night.

He's in Meyers off of Highway 50.

"It's light and dry. We haven't seen the big winds we were expecting at first. It is falling pretty much straight down," said Cooper.

The Sierra will get hit with several feet of snow by the time this week is over.

"We could see upwards of 8 feet of snow. But right now, if we're conservative, we're going to say 3-6 feet around the region. It's going to center down the south so Kirkwood, Bear, China, Dodge- that range right here seems like it's going to get a bit more," said Cooper.

Many Bay Area families have been eager to see the snow.

"We have ski week, you know. No school the next week, so just taking my daughter up to the snow to have some friends with her friends," said Carlos Cunha of the Bay Area.

ABC7 Eyewitness News talked to San Jose resident Jose Guerrero.

He arrived in Truckee Sunday afternoon and said there wasn't really any snow on the ground. But then things changed overnight.

He described what the snow conditions were like Monday.

"We have only received in Tahoe Donner- 14 inches so far," said Guerrero. "Snow has been steady. Not heavy. Some visibility is still good. When wind picks up. White out conditions do come up."

Guerrero says he's ready for the storm.

"We are OK. We have water. We have a generator as a backup. We have plenty of food in the house,' said Guerrero.

This severe storm created some serious slowdowns on the roads. The freeway was shutdown for a while Monday because of spinouts.

"It's a little nerve-racking, especially if you're not used to driving in the snow like this. And we got 4-5 hours up and they turned us around twice almost," said Bay Area resident Gabe Ghanzafanri.

Guerrero, a former SJ Fire Department Battalion Chief, reminds people to slow down.

He said he saw one vehicle almost flipped on the side. He says that's because the driver was going too fast.

"Today I saw two vehicle accidents from people speeding. You really need to slow down. All of us need to slow down to 15 miles per hour. Sometimes 20 maximum because it's easy to lose control. There's ice on the ground especially as the sun goes down," said Guerrero.

Experts say all this snow is a good reset -- especially for the snowpack and for ski resorts.

Bay Area residents didn't have to go all the way to the Sierra to see snow on Tuesday morning, with some in the North Bay waking up to a wintry surprise.

Bay Area residents didn't have to go all the way to the Sierra to see snow on Tuesday morning.

Lightning, thunder and even snow made for a surprising Tuesday morning for many living in the North Bay.

"I looked out my patio window, and it was snow, big snowflakes," said Eisabeth Ruth Zemansky of Angwin.

All of it made for a surprising Tuesday morning for many living in the North Bay.

Zemansky said she woke up to the sounds of the storm around 4:30 a.m.

"Starting to rain, and then around about two minutes to five, the first big crash of thunder. And then I saw lightning," she said.

Those who wanted to see the winter wonderland in that part of the North Bay had to get up pretty early because by about 7 a.m. the rain had already started to wash most of that snow away.

Though it was mostly Angwin hit by snow, the thunder and lightning could be felt in other parts of the North Bay.

Video sent to us from Stephanie Hoobler and her son Patrick from Sebastapol shows a flash of lightning in the sky.

ABC7 Eyewitness News captured a lightning strike seen in Novato followed by many more and a downpouring of rain along Northbound Highway 101.

In Belvedere, hail could be seen slamming into the ground.

North Bay residents were staying ready as sandbags were selling quickly more than a month after widespread flooding did millions of dollars in damage, sand bags sold quickly at a Marin County hardware store.

This wet weather comes with important reminders from first responders.

"Look at your local weather and please slow down for the rain. Drive with your headlights on and just be cautious of any emergency equipment on the road," said Battalion Chief Jake Rosebrock with Marin County Fire Department.

Lightning struck a redwood tree outside a Santa Rosa preschool on Tuesday morning, causing the tree to explode and damage the building.

It happened at Woodside West Preschool on Guerneville Road.

Tree fragments punched a hole in the building's roof and crushed a fence.

Classes were canceled for the day and thankfully, there were no reports of injuries.

Crews are working to restore power to Stanford's campus after it was knocked out Tuesday morning when a line of strong storms moved through the area.

According to the school's website, university staff is working with PG&E to restore power to portions of the campus.

"One of the main PG&E transmission lines feeding the campus is reportedly impacted, causing the outage," Stanford officials said.

Officials say that classes may continue, but it's subject to "the discretion of instructors considering safety and the ability to conduct instruction."

"Those working in laboratory spaces should pause work where possible, complete procedures to safely secure their experiment and lab equipment, leave the building, and notify their group's emergency contact of their whereabouts," said Stanford officials.