Published since 2005. San Francisco is a city that belongs to the people of the world. Hence this blog has a global focus. The name "Sam Spade's San Francisco" refers to an exciting era in the City's history, the time of Dashiell Hammett's fictional gumshoe and San Francisco character, Sam Spade. My name is Tom Dunn and I edit the blog. I'm not as exciting as Sam Spade, but I am definitely a San Francisco character.Contact or on Twitter -- Search blog below.
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Friday, January 04, 2008
San Francisco Blasted by Pacific Ocean Storm!
It's 9 AM and winds gusting up to 60 miles an hour are blasting through San Francisco. My husband and I live on one of the City's many hills and we have a view of the bay and the City.
We've seen trees overblown and branches flying through the air. San Francisco is getting pounded.
The photo is a still capture of a live camera mounted on the San Francisco side of Golden Gate Bridge. You will notice few cars on an otherwise always busy bridge. In high winds the bridge sways back and forth and that makes it very difficult to drive across the bridge.The wind is currently gusting to 55 miles per hour on the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge spanning San Francisco bay has been entirely closed. CalTrans has asked people to avoid driving on the Bay Bridge, although the bridge is open.
More than 108,000 people are without power as I write this and the wind is gusting outside my window at 50 miles per hour.
Creeks in Marin County are rising fast and flooding is entirely possible. The creeks in San Rafael and San Anselmo are rising very rapidly and the storm drains are filling fast. Some streets are already flooding.
The place to be here in San Francisco today is atop Sutro Park. Sutro Park is the bluff that rises over and just behind the Cliff House. It is where Adolph Sutro once had an impressive mansion where he could look out over Ocean Beach, the Golden Gate and the Pacific Ocean.
From atop that vantage point it is possible to see the huge breakers, swelling waves and storm-tossed sea rampaging down below. I've seen that show many times before and it is always a majestic, dramatic demonstration of Nature's raw power.
The City officials and the Coast Guard both advise people to stay far away from the beaches and surf today, but it is safe enough from atop Mr. Sutro's old place. If you come out to join me, wear major wind and rain gear because you will be drenched. It's the price of admission to one of the most dramatic shows on Earth!
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