Rain will continue to pound the Bay Area throughout the weekend, a National Weather Service forecaster said today.

The rainfall and strong winds will continue through Sunday, and will subside early next week, meteorologist Diana Henderson said.

She said this morning's weather is representative of how the rest of the day will be.
"What you see is a harbinger of the day to come: wet, windy and a slight chance of thunderstorms," she said.

Henderson said winds of up to 50 mph are possible on the coast and in some areas of the East Bay today. Rain will persist all week and through the weekend, but the winds will die down, she said.

Temperatures are expected be in the lower 60s this week, Henderson said.

"It's going to be chilly and uncomfortable," Henderson said. "But this is not unusual weather for this time of year."

High winds were reported on the San Mateo-Hayward, Richmond-San Rafael and Bay bridges this morning.

And on northbound U.S. Highway 101 in Marin County, the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard off-ramp near Greenbrae was partially flooded this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

"General highway conditions get dicier in this type of weather," Henderson said.

Henderson said there is little threat of local rivers and streams flooding today, but that flooding could be a concern by the end of the weekend.

— Bay City News Service

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