Tornado Warning Expires; Heavy Rain Hitting East Bay Now

A storm that produced a tornado scare in San Mateo County this morning is now pounding Alameda and Contra Costa counties with rain.

The tornado warning was issued for San Mateo County by the National Weather Service at 11 a.m. It expired at 11:30 a.m. with no reports of damage.

A funnel cloud did destroy a shed this morning in western Santa Rosa.

The warning was issued as the weather service's radar system picked up signs of a severe thunderstorm and possible tornado approaching the coast, said meteorologist Steve Anderson.

Winds of 30 to 40 mph and a downpour of rain and pea-sized hail were reported but not a tornado, Anderson said.

The heavy part of the storm passed through the Peninsula and "once it got over the Bay, it decreased in intensity rapidly," he said.

The storm knocked out power to more than 2,000 Bay Area customers early this afternoon. Most of the outages are reported in San Francisco's Park Merced neighborhood. Other outages are reported in Orinda and San Rafael. As of 2:45 p.m., power had been restored to all 470 customers.

A series of storms is expected to soak the Bay Area through at least Tuesday.

The heaviest downpours are expected today. The National Weather Service predicts heavy rain with possible thunderstorms this afternoon.

Winds are also expected to be strong, possibly gusting to more than 20 mph.

The rain is expected to turn to showers Friday evening.

On Saturday, there is a 50 percent chance of rain with an 80 percent chance on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

More rain is expected on Monday and Tuesday.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.