California storm damage scenes across San Francisco

While not nearly as biblical as forecasted, this weekend’s California storm unleashed a good amount of rain and wind upon the Bay Area. Anywhere from 3 to five inches of rain was predicted for San Francisco, but received a reported 2.3 inches.

The city saw power lines topple, resulting in thousands without power on Sunday; trees tumble down on streets; and high-rise scaffolding topple.

Outside of San Francisco, SFO has to cancel and temporarily halt most flights; Highway 50 in the Sierras closed down; and the historic Pioneer Cabin Tree, which was hollowed out in the 1800s to let tourists to pass through, collapsed.

According to Climate Nexus, a nonprofit organization that summarizes and maps global warming in extreme weather events across the country, says that this weekend’s atmospheric river storm was due, in part, to climate change.

The California storm and resulting floods are consistent with climate change, which amplifies the risk of flooding by increasing the intensity of extreme precipitation and causing more precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow. Model projections also show that climate change may increase the intensity, frequency and duration of atmospheric river storms in the state. California's whipsaw from drought to flood mirrors the climate model projections for the state in a warming climate that forecast an increase in both drought and flooding, often alternating, over the coming years.

Here are some scenes of the storm’s wrath in San Francisco.

↑ Scaffolding collapsed at Market and Seventh resulting in the temporary closure of the city’s main artery.

↑ According to Hoodline, “[N]ear McLaren Park, two families have been displaced after a large tree fell into their homes at around 7:30am [Sunday] morning.”

↑ Bernal Heights

↑ Flooding in the Inner Sunset.

↑ 20th and Valencia in the Mission

↑ Pine and Leavenworth in the Tendernob.

↑ Golden Gate Park

↑ Embarcadero flooded.

↑ Bernal Heights`

• Storm Report: Downed Trees, Collapsed Scaffolding, Power Outages Cause Headaches Around SF [Hoodline]
• Historic Pioneer Cabin Tree toppled in California storm [SF Chronicle]