SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Winds gusting as high as 60 mph howled through the San Francisco Bay area Thursday, breaking windows, uprooting small trees and forcing the suspension of a major golf tournament.
A window washer working on a downtown high-rise had to break the window he was cleaning and climb into the building to escape the dangerous gusts.At the Pacific Gas & Electric corporate headquarters, winds shattered a heavy revolving door at the building's entrance. The company reported that 31,000 of its customers were without power at some point during the storm.
Play at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament was suspended because of rain and high winds that pushed balls around on the greens.
Firefighters in San Jose had a tough time controlling a three-alarm fire at an apartment complex as winds fanned the blaze, according to a San Jose Fire Department spokeswoman. It took about 70 firefighters to do the job.
The winds intensified because a cold front combined with a relatively strong low pressure system, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Kozlowski.