Storm brings hours of rainfall and strong winds to Monterey Peninsula

MONTEREY, Calif. Another round of rain and wind worried residents on the Monterey Peninsula, Thursday.

"With us, and other areas like Pebble Beach, it's the trees. You have to worry about the trees," said peninsula resident, John Freitas.

The first big storm of the year didn't go so easy on the peninsula. One tree in Monterey got the brunt of it, after completely snapping at its trunk and landing in the middle of Monroe Street.

Those who have seen the wind take down trees in their own yards know how frightening it can be. "It's pretty scary. It's pretty dramatic. If you've experienced it, you remember it," said Freitas.

Others battled the storm away from home. Some were forced to navigate through partially flooded streets and low visibility.

"It's horrible. It's definitely harder to see on the road. It was very foggy. The rain is just coming at you to the point where you can't even see," said peninsula resident, Jazmin Rosales.

The National Weather Service has been hard at work tracking the storm. On top of the rain, Meteorologist, Brian Garcia said he has kept an eye on the wind.

"One of the ways we track this weather is through our doppler radar up on Mount Umunhum. We watch all this rain come in via radar data. It also gives us the ability to see what the winds are doing up where the rain is falling," said Garcia.

Garcia said some gusts reached up to 40 miles per hour in Monterey County, Thursday.

"I heard reports from Pacific Grove that some of the doors on the schools were flying open with some of the gusts that were flying through. Once this front fully slides through, the winds will be on the decline," said Garcia.