A powerful storm fueled by a stream of tropical moisture called the "Pineapple Express" battered not only drought-stricken California, but also the entire West Coast with damaging winds and enough rain to cause flooding and landslides.
The National Weather Service in Monterey, California, said Monday that this storm was "expected to be one of the strongest storms in terms of wind and rain intensity" since storms in October 2009 and January 2008.
On Thursday afternoon in Oregon, the Portland International Airport recorded a 67-mph wind gust, its highest wind gust in 33 years.
(MORE: West Coast Storm Impacts)
Powerful wind gusts hit the San Francisco Bay Area Thursday morning, knocking out power to some 150,000 customers. Winds in the Sierra Nevada topped out at 147 mph on the summit of Mount Lincoln, near Truckee.
The storm also slammed the Pacific Northwest, where hurricane force wind warnings were posted for the waters along the coast of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. Over 100,000 customers had lost power in the Northwest by Thursday evening as wind gusts as high as 95 mph ripped northward through Oregon and into Washington.
Numerous flash flood warnings were issued Thursday, including virtually every county in the San Francisco Bay Area. Multiple freeways were closed due to flooding, and parts of Sonoma County have seen over 9 inches of rain.
At the airport in San Francisco, as much as 3.43 inches of rain fell on Thursday, which is a record for the month of December and the third greatest calendar day rainfall for any month for the city.
Near Healdsburg, California northwest of Santa Rosa 9 inches of rain was reported from Wednesday into Thursday afternoon.
Early Friday morning, flash flood warnings were issued in parts of Southern California, including Los Angeles. There were also reports of residents stuck inside their homes due to a mudslide in Camarillo Springs, in Ventura County, California.
Downtown Los Angeles saw just over 1.5 inches of rain through 10 a.m. Friday, while San Diego has reported just under 0.75 inch of rain.
In addition, an EF0 tornado was reported 5 miles south-southwest of Los Angeles on Friday morning, damaging roofs, trees, and a steel billboard.